In Part I of this “Fingerprint to Footprint” series (published Jan. 3, 2020), we examined how a maintenance department can easily adopt an energy-control strategy as part of its proactive-maintenance program. Here, in Part II, we discuss a common example of that type of “adoption” strategy: lubricant selection.
Click Here To Read Part I Focusing On
“General Action Items”
To recap, an effective sustainable program needs to be economically viable, influence people in a beneficial manner, and affect the environment (planet) in a positive manner. A prime area where a maintenance department can practice a sustainable approach involves the choice and use of a class of lubricants known as environmentally acceptable (EAL) or environmentally friendly (EFL) oil and grease lubricating products.
Essentially, EAL/EFL lubricants are oils and greases designed to protect, or minimize, their impact on the environment. In the past, use of these lubricants have most often found and associated with working environments where a lubricant may come into contact with food or manufactured product, water, and soil.
CHOOSING EAL/EFL LUBRICANTS THAT MEET YOUR NEEDS
Although there are differing International. Federal and State legislative interpretations surrounding terms and claims for EAL/EFL lubricants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Wastewater Management best describes them (as follows):
“…the term environmentally acceptable lubricant (EAL) is used to describe those lubricants that have been demonstrated to meet standards for biodegradability, toxicity and bioaccumulation potential that minimize their likely adverse consequences in the aquatic environment, compared to conventional lubricants. In contrast, lubricants that may be expected to have desirable environmental qualities, but have not been demonstrated to meet these standards, are referred to as environmentally friendly lubricants (EFLs) or biolubricants.”
(Ref. EPA, Waste Water Management, Albert R., Rappoli B., 2011, Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants, EPA 800-R-11-002 [White Paper]). Source: www3.epa.gov.
In the above-referenced white paper, the EPA focuses primarily on lubricants designed for minimizing impact to water sources. In general terms, promoting a lubricant as a legitimate EAL/EFL lubricant, obliges the lubricant manufacturer to provide adequate proof that it meets one or more of the following attributes:
1. The lubricant is friendly or non-toxic to the natural environment when in use, and will quickly biodegrade without harm if spilled or disposed of incorrectly.
2. When exhausted of its additive packages through extended use, the lubricant base stock can be cleaned, renewed, and reused thereby reducing overall consumption.
3. The lubricant is capable of extended drain intervals—long a claim of synthetic versus mineral based lubricants—again, reducing oil consumption.
4. Lubricants designed to reduce energy and a user’s carbon footprint due to superior lubricity and performance under extreme operating condition. Many synthetic lubricants play an active role in efficiently reducing machine energy consumption while delivering a correlative CO2-emission savings (see Part I of this article series).
5. Specialty lubricants designed specifically to address issues related to specific “working” environments. For example, an automotive assembly paint line overhead conveyor chain lube designed with tactifier additives that ensure the lubricant that does not drip on to the newly painted automobile surface, or a food manufacturing / processing plant’s requirement for specialty lubricants that will not cause harm to humans or significantly degrade its products if they come into contact with the product
When searching for a suitable EAL/EFL lubricant for use in your application(s), these five attributes can be used to open up a discussion and understand how each manufacturers lubricants work to provide sustainability to determine suitability in accordance with your existing corporate sustainability program, or set a baseline for developing such a program.
Traditionally, EAL/EFL lubricant base should be easily biodegadeable, or water soluble, charateristics found in vegetable, sythetic esters, and polyalkylene Glycols (PAG) base oils and greases. As always, working with a reputable lubricant supplier is the best course to ensure you choose the right EAL/AFL product for your application and needs.
ENSURE YOUR LUBE PROGRAM IS ENVIRONMENATLLY FRIENDLY
Purchasing the right EPL/EFL lubricant that meets your needs is only the first step of your journey as sustained environmentally friendliness is only as good as your lubrication program! Once a new lubricant(s) is chosen, the following actions must anchor your program:
- When changing out stock to an EAL/EFL product, work with the lube supplier to correctly purge all old (previous) product out of lube system reservoir, lines, bearings, etc. This may require the use of an interim flushing or cleaning product.
- Review your receiving practices to ensure your EAL/EFL friendly lubricants are correctly stored separate from other lubricants in your plant to ensure no cross-contamination can take place.
- Use only new and dedicated transfer equipment for each new EAL/EFL lubricant product introduced into the plant, again, to ensure cross contamination with other lubricants does not occur.
- Make sure all reservoirs and transfer equipment are labeled with the correct lubricant type and viscosity to ensure the right lubricant is being used in the right place.
- DO NOT OVER-LUBRICATE. Over lubricating not only overheats and reduces the life of both bearing and lubricant, it increases lubricant use and exposes the lubricant to the environment unnecessarily.
- Follow all the manufacturer’s recommendations for spillage and lubricant disposal.
Introducing EAL /EFL lubricants is a practical and easy step into a sustainability based maintenance program that also provides an excellent reason to update and modernize your lubrication program.TRR
Click Here to Read Ken Bannister’s Dec. 16, 2019 Newsletter Column
“The Fingerprint to Footprint Challenge
“That Introduced This Series
“
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken Bannister has 40+ years of experience in the RAM industry. For the past 30, he’s been a Managing Partner and Principal Asset Management Consultant with Engtech Industries Inc., where he specializes in helping clients implement best-practice asset-management programs worldwide. A founding member and past director of the Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada, Bannister is the author of several books, including three on lubrication, one on predictive maintenance, and his latest, Energy Reduction Through Improved Maintenance Practices (Industrial Press). He’s also writing a new book on planning and scheduling. Contact him directly at 519-469-9173 or kbannister@theramreview.com.
Tags: asset management, lubrication, energy management, lubricants, lubrication, EAL, EFL, biodegradable lubricants, Green, reliability, maintenance, availability
