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CHEVRON PUTS A FREEZE ON LUBRICATION PROBLEMS AT KENYON ZERO STORAGE The Yakima Valley is a rich agricultural area, producing a bounty of apples, pears, peas, wheat and grapes. Yet such an abundance brings a challenge to the growers: preserving the produce in a refrigerated storage warehouse for future use. Kenyon Zero Storage operates four storage warehouses which together can hold 160 million pounds of frozen bulk or packaged produce. Kenyon's buildings must maintain a sub-zero environment -- six degrees below zero-- which requires a cooling system that runs fault-free for months at a time. Russ Mears, Chief Engineer at Kenyon Zero Storage, is the man responsible for keeping the company cool. Two years ago, Mears was experiencing foaming and carryover with a naphthenic-based lubricant which prevented Kenyon's compressors from operating efficiently. Andy Veteto of Wondrack Distributing, a Chevron Lubrication Marketer, recommended that Mears switch to Chevron Ammonia Refrigeration Oil ISO 68 (ARO), an advanced refrigeration lubricant. Mears agreed to try it out. Specifically designed for ammonia-based systems, Chevron ARO possesses excellent thermal stability and lower volatility -- which means less foaming and carryover -- and offers superior protection of moving compressor parts.
According to Mears, Chevron ARO is particularly friendly to the seals inside the compressor. When the seals come in contact with oil that is saturated with ammonia, they are more likely to blister. "With Chevron ARO, cleaner oil reaches the seals, helping them to live longer," Mears said. "Typically, seals have been troublesome in compressors, so much so that I'm always getting calls from other operators asking how my seals are holding up. I tell them that since I switched to Chevron ARO, there's been no problem." And seal failure is a costly proposition. Mears says that the foaming he was experiencing with the previous refrigeration oil stopped after the plant switched to Chevron ARO. Caused by oil picking up air as it travels through the system, foaming reduces the oil's lubrication performance and makes it impossible to read the sight gauges. "It cleaned up the sight gauges so much that sometimes it's hard to tell if there is any oil in the compressor at all," said Mears. Another benefit of Chevron ARO is its long life. "I'm embarrassed about not changing the oil," explained Mears. "The Chevron product just remains clear and clean month after month." Chevron's ARO's long life translates into operating savings for Kenyon. Each compressor holds approximately one 55-gallon barrel of oil. Since changing to Chevron ARO, Kenyon has cut its oil use from ten barrels to five and achieved annual savings of approximately half of the company's previous lubricants budget. Chevron Corporation CORRECT COMPRESSION CUTS
COSTS By Michael Bahr, Kaeser A typical example of air tool connection shows while the system is at rest, pressure at the filter/regulator/lubricator unit (FRL) is 6.1 bar and pressure at the air tool is 6 bar. However, this pressure reading is not the same as when the system is in use. Pressure drop at the air tool -- what can you do? It's not uncommon to see a considerable drop in flow pressure at the air tool when the system is in use. In our example, the drop is 2 bar which means that the tool only has 54% of its capacity available. The causes can often be easily corrected: a) The connector diameter is too small -- use a larger diameter quick connector. b) Pressure regulator is incorrectly adjusted -- open further. c) The system pressure is too low -- increase the pressure in the main system or install larger diameter air distribution piping. d) The spiral hose is too small -- use a larger spiral hose, or better still, use a straight hose. e) Pressure drop caused by decentralised water separator -- dry compressed air centrally (separator is therefore unnecessary). 100% tool capacity and optimal pressure, here 6 bar, can be achieved by keeping these points in mind. Save energy -- with the correct system pressure Pressure regulators can influence efficiency of compressed air use much more than many people think. Our example is a compressed air system operated with a pressure of 8 to 10 bar and the air take-off points have a pressure between 7.5 and 9.5 bar, which has been reduced to 6 bar by pressure regulators. To save energy, the system pressure is reduced to 6.8 bar from 7 bar. This means that there is still 6.1 bar at the system take-off points, but only 4 bar at the air tools. This leads to longer operating time, deficient work results due to insufficient pressure at the tools and longer compressor running times. However, the desired savings effect can be effortlessly achieved if, in addition to the system pressure being reduced, straight hoses are used, superfluous water separators are removed and the pressure regulators at the air take-off points are opened further. Kaeser
SYNTHETIC LUBRICANT
PROVIDES EXTREME PROTECTION Canada is the 9th largest oil producer in the world. This vast country hosts one of the most frigid, cold-weather environments, making oil pumping a challenging task. The mission of Brenntag Canada, the leading distributor of specialty and commodity chemicals, is to provide an effective oil pumping solution for customers operating in winter temperatures, falling substantially below freezing. In cooperation with ANDEROL Inc., a specialty lubricant provider, testing of the PumpJack 150 lubricant over a period of several months revealed optimal cold-weather operability, improved pump jack performance and reduced energy consumption. "Our goals were to find energy savings, achieve consistent pumpability, shed the presence of water and perform fewer change outs," says Ian Nicholson, sales manager at Brenntag. "What resulted was remarkable - we achieved a power savings, enabling producing customers to gain competitive advantage through power and maintenance savings." Prior to application of the ANDEROL lubricant, machines ran at 30 hp, and after showed a 14 percent reduction in required power resulting in an estimated $1,960 savings per pump jack annually. In addition, the superior additive technology of the synthetic prevents downtime, water contamination, and equipment wear associated with oil pumping and processing. A Challenging Environment To better meet customer needs, Brenntag Canada took on the cold-weather oil pumping challenge of producing fields. Having an already established relationship with ANDEROL, Brenntag Canada received the permission of customers to conduct performance and operability testing of ANDEROL's customized lubricant on 12 pump jacks with the goal of finding a solution benefiting a wide customer base. Initial assessment revealed many customers had been employing inefficient products, with Pour Points of 25°C -- much too high for proper gear functionality. With more than 37,000 pump jacks, distributed throughout Alberta alone, Brenntag Canada can now distribute ANDEROL's PumpJack 150 synthetic lubricant to customers as a comprehensive business solution that maintains proper stability, reduces horse power requirements and allows companies to allocate resources to other parts of their business," says Nicholson. After 10 months of testing and result gathering, the ANDEROL PumpJack 150 lubricant was found to increase productivity and withstand processing damage compared to conventional petroleum-based fluids. An added benefit comes from only needing to perform full lubricant change outs every five years, instead of three, significantly lowering lubricant maintenance costs. Detailed Testing ANDEROL, in partnership with Lufkin Industries Canada, a major OEM, ran a comparative testing program of the ANDEROL PumpJack 150 and mineral-based product on several 30 hp/3 phase pumping units with a 460 volt electric drive motor to determine how the products differed and which product would most benefit customers. A web-driven software program linked to the pump jacks provided real-time, 24/7 monitoring and collected measurement of ambient temperatures, pressure and horsepower from an offsite location. Well head pressures averaged 200 psi over the life of this test. Results revealed the synthetic product's unique composition was responsible for a reduced electrical power usage of 14 percent, as well as a 20 percent increase in polished rod horsepower. Polished rod horsepower represents the useful power of fluid lifting and the sum of all energy losses occurring down hole. The PumpJack 150 also had a lower Brookefield viscosity predicting minimal machinery strain. Together these results indicated that the 30 hp units could be reduced to 20 hp motors, contributing to larger operational savings companies add to their bottom line. To adequately measure wear performance of ANDEROL's synthetic and a comparable ISO mineral oil, two pump jacks were first drained, flushed and the gears inspected for missing teeth, pitting and fretting. During the test, lubricant samples were withdrawn from the gearbox to assess viscosity, total acid number, water content, metal wear, FTIR (contamination) and ferrography (abnormal wear). The pump jack operating with the mineral oil was found to have abnormally high rates of wear, which exceeded the gearbox manufacturers limit for ferrous wear. The pump jack with ANDEROL PumpJack 150 was well within the manufacturers acceptable range. This distinction is due in part to the unique balance of synthetic chemistry, which also offers outstanding demlusibility and foaming properties along with superior adhesion to metal. The Right Solution Since the ANDEROL JackPump 150 was found to have excellent low temperature flow and stability, cold-region gearboxes performing drilling applications at bitter temperatures of 40°C/40°F are assured of reduced start-up torques and lowered amperage draw. This permits faster, more reliable start-ups. Overall the oil & gas industry will benefit from significant gains in productivity and increased equipment performance during harsh winters. "Until now, the highly competitive oil industry has not been able to create a solution that brings so many benefits to customers producing in challenging environments," says Ian Nicholson, sales manager at Brenntag. "With our joint testing efforts we have proven that the ANDEROL PumpJack 150 supports oil pumping productivity, protects critical equipment and drives down the cost of doing business." Customers working with ANDEROL will benefit from expert lubricant engineers who can provide technical service and an oil analysis program that ensures their oil field operations are running proficiently. Anderol Inc.
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Canadian Industrial Equipment News July/August 2004 |
May 15, 2008
Mears was astonished with the results. "Chevron ARO
separates out the ammonia much better," he explained over the hum of
the engine room. "In these systems, the oil acts as both a lubricant
and a sealant. If the oil does not separate, it not only hurts the
compressor, but it gets into the coils of the evaporator and really fouls
things up," Mears says. "The oil must 'drop out' (from the
ammonia), and the Chevron product does this much better than the previous
oil."
