The Real Value of Circular-Use Oil

The common linear use of industrial oil, in which it is used in its application until it degrades and then is discarded and replaced, for most of the current oil waste handling does not meet current industrial needs or environmental aspirations. To this end, it is vital to employ circular recovery and the reuse of industrial oil. SKF is leading this change through its RecondOil solution that allows customers to not only avoid supply chain problems, but also reduce costs and diminish their environmental impact.

There is no doubt that oil is a critical asset for all industries. However, if it is not handled properly, oil can become contaminated, which is one of the main causes of premature equipment failure. Consequently, proper oil maintenance is key to optimizing operations and ensuring their continuity. However, oil remains a very expensive commodity and generates large amounts of CO2 during its extraction, refining, blending, transportation and use.

Since the linear use of oil is unsustainable and inefficient, different solutions have been developed to avoid oil contamination, but no conventional method has been known to remove all the small particles that degrade oil over time. For this reason, SKF's successful Double Separation Technology (DST) has become a game changer in the industry by capturing and separating particles and removing nano-sized impurities, thus allowing the oil to maintain its original properties.

“In contrast to conventional filtering technologies, DST allows continuous regeneration of the same lubrication oil, without stripping it of the additives that provide the characteristics that your machines and production processes require. In fact, with DST, we can regenerate the oil to higher levels of cleanliness than completely new oil. As a result, in some processes, DST-treated, ultra-clean oil provides higher performance than new, off-the-shelf virgin oil,” SKF explained.

SKF's DST has been extensively tested under real operating conditions and has achieved a particular nanoparticle reduction between 90 and 99 percent. Furthermore, it has been proved that the combination of DST with SKF high-performance oil can result in an almost infinite oil life.

In addition, SKF oils are high-quality oils optimized for DST regeneration. With SKF oils, SKF can do both reconditioning and re-additivation of an oil, which is an essential condition for achieving circularity. Regenerated oil enables one-off oil purchases without replacement and waste of oil. But also, thanks to constantly clean oil, a dramatic increase in industrial process reliability and performance.

Additionally, oil costs are significantly reduced because instead of purchasing equipment and oil based on a traditional model, contracts rely on the performance of operations against relevant parameters like productivity, downtime and energy usage.

The DST process can be implemented in any operation since it can be adapted to the existing oil circulation system or in independent units. In the circulation system, the Integrated DST system works as a complement to the existing filter. The flow filter solution will continue to work as usual while the DST system will regenerate the oil. This allows clean oil to be constantly circulated, improving performance and quality, without the need for oil changes or disposal.

Another solution of the DST are the standalone DST systems, not connected to an existing circulation system. For when the oil has reached the highest point of acceptable degradation and contamination, it will be shipped to the DST plant for batch regeneration. All SKF’s solutions are highly customizable to meet customer needs, specific problems and ensure the high performance, regeneration and circular use of oil.

The future of key industries, such as metallurgical, mining and manufacturing, lies in the circular use of oil and since SKF has a unique product in the market, it will continue to be among the leaders in the segment. “The simplicity of the solution provided by SKF and the benefits of this technology will keep SKF at the top of the segment. SKF has developed different business models to provide oil as a service (OaaS) for a reliable and continuous operation,” said Pascal Verhoie, Head of Sales & Application Development at SKF RecondOil.

The company told MBN it is working on both integrated and the standalone systems to fully commercialize its technology. Furthermore, SKF is developing downsized versions of both systems as well as the SKF range of industrial oil.

It is important to highlight that the newest member in the RecondOil family, launched to the market in April this year, is RecondOil Box, combining the benefits of Double Separation Technology with the compactness and flexibility of SKF’s high performing offline filter technology. The company wanted to achieve the same levels of nanoparticle filtration as with RecondOil’s large-scale DST systems (the integrated and standalone systems)– but on a fraction of the scale. With this solution, it can target a much wider range of customers and applications. SKF will also continue to develop its own oils, as an essential of achieving truly circular use of oil

Established in 1907, SKF offers industry-leading automotive and industrial engineering solutions through its five technology-focused platforms: bearings and drives, seals, mechatronics, lubrication solutions and services.