Lafarge to use ExxonMobil Lubricants and Petroleum Specialities
Lafarge is to use of Mobil SHC 600 lubricants and related application expertise, from ExxonMobil Lubricants and Petroleum Specialties, at two of its cement plants.
At Lafarge’s Hope Works site in the UK, the cement maker was looking to optimise the lubrication in its new open gear on the no. 2 raw mill. The previous open gear was lubricated by a semi-fluid, solid-based grease, which ran a total loss system.
However, this approach caused a number of issues, including the large amount of grease that had to be used and disposed of. Moreover, the thick, black nature of the grease coating made essential periodic gear inspections very difficult and time consuming.
Following the introduction of Mobil SHC 639, savings were generated after initial purchase by eliminating an estimated $30,000 per year for the purchase and disposal of the previous grease.
According to ExxonMobil Lubricants, other benefits included reduced energy consumption through the lubricant reducing internal friction and lowering the operating temperature of the system.
At the Jordan Cement site in Fuheis, Jordan, the Lafarge-majority-owned facility was experiencing unscheduled downtime due to kiln bearings overheating.
The kiln faced stoppages due to support bearings overheating: the previously used lubricant was causing the bearings to reach temperatures of 65°C, causing unscheduled downtime, increased bearing maintenance and higher oil costs.
To rectify this problem, Jordan Cement switched to Mobil SHC 639 lubricants on four support bearings in the middle section, said ExxonMobil Lubricants.
Over a 17-month period, bearing overheating was totally prevented, which resulted in an increase in revenue of around US$1.7m, according to the lubricants supplier.
Published under Cement News
