Coal Age

AUG 2014

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August 2014 www.coalage.com 33 f u e l s & l u b r i c a n t s c o n t i n u e d testing and evaluations are essential, and customers expect it." Proper filtration also means every- thing to the life of equipment and fluids, the company said, and it is a ripple effect. Engines depend on oil and fuel and air filters, hydraulic fluids depend on filtra- tion, proper filtration increases the life of the equipment and the fluids, and increased life means increased produc- tion and profits, and decreased costs. The top recommendation Quaker can make to save money and time while keeping a mine safe and meet goals is knowing the right solution for an issue. "Mines and facilities must buy the right lube for the right application; using an inferior product because it is less expensive only increases your cost in the long run," he said. "Utilizing your supplier's knowledge as to what lubri- cant fits the application best should be taken advantage of. The mines and facilities should evaluate where the product will be applied, the conditions it has to operate in and abuses it will have to endure, and then use the best product for that application." Quaker also recommends that mines use fire-resistant products whenever and wherever possible. "The cost is a little higher, but we remind the customer, how much would a fire cost? How much is a little insurance worth? Choosing a fire- resistant product only pays off in the long run. Safety should always be the most important thing in any manager's mind. Cutting corners and cost should never take precedent over worker safety. Commodity vs. Specialty Lubricants Procurement of lubricants, in particular speciality lubricants, is still highly frag- mented and mainly takes place at a plant/mine level, according to Daniel Narnhammer, head of Global Com- petence Center Mining for Klüber Lubrication. The reasons are threefold: the small purchasing volumes compared to fuels and commodity lubricants; the decision of which lubricants are used is often made by the plant or maintenance officer directly, as he knows the require- ments of his equipment best but does not take care of reducing the product types in use; and that various current and upcom- ing global regulations like REACH, GHS, and EAL will make it difficult for the pur- chasing departments in the large global mining companies. "It is important to partner with a lubricant supplier that has the ability to develop and register its products in line with laws and regulations [and] exten- sive application know-how paired with the chemical/lubricant background is the basis for lifting synergies or using similar products for a variety of applica- tions," he said. The hot topic of emissions, Narnhammer said, is not exclusive to fuels and fuel consumption. "The emissions of a haul truck is determined by several factors, such as the engineering of the combustion engine, drive train, and gearbox efficien- cy factor and lubricants used. Energy consumption reduction strategies can analyze test rig testing, simulation and calculation under real-life conditions, including energy consulting, measure- ment, evaluation and reporting." Those facilities with their eye on com- pliance and being a good neighbor are also, in many cases, those also exhibiting the tightest uptime and production effi- ciency plans for its crews and its periodic production and safety goals. Keeping that in check means working safely as well as intelligently, and Klüber's position on those recommendations for mines is straightforward. "One simple answer: change from commodity lubricants to specialty lubri- cants. For example, changing a haul truck rear axle gear oil from mineral oil to high- performance polyglycol oils will extend oil lifetime up to five times. This leads to reduced equipment downtime (caused by less maintenance efforts), longer MTBF and less fuel costs. Last but not least, lower gear oil costs due to longer oil lifetime." As an example, Klüber Lubrication recently switched a ball mill drive from a standard open-gear product to trans- parent Klüberfluid C-F 3 Ultra. The consumption of conventional commodi- ty open gear lubricant was 500 grams per hr. "We could bring this amount down to 90 grams per hr, which resulted in lower lubricant costs, reduced disposal costs and lower pinion and girth gear temperatures," he said of the results. "Additionally, the manpower utilization could also be reduced, because the clogging of the drainage system was no longer a problem." He also noted a case where a facility worked with the company to switch over to a rotary screw compressor in a mining operation from a mineral oil to Klüber Summit SH 46, and the oil change interval prior to the changeover was 4,000 hours. After the changeover, the oil lifetime reached 8,500 hours and resulted in a 1.5% energy savings, he said, which resulted in a bisection of the annual oil consumption from 120 liters to 56 liters per compressor. On the product front, Klüber intro- duced a multipurpose lubricant for Getting a Grip on Dust with Quaker Dust suppression is a continuous and costly activity for mining operations, and it limits operational effi- ciency and impairs visibility increasing the risk of accidents. High dust levels can impact worker health and safety from air pollution and flammability, and negatively affects the environment through erosion, soil loss and excess water consumption. Lubrication producer Quaker recently heard from a leading coal producer and marketer in the eastern U.S.; the company was getting dust readings on their wall, continuous miners and belt head that reached levels of 1.65 mg/m 3 . These dust levels were so high, it was causing scum to accumulate in the mine water system and was also causing hosing systems to clog. Quaker Chemical approached the coal producer about adding the DUSTGRIP water-based dust suppressants to their operations to help eliminate water and hosing system problems while also reducing the amount of dust being measured on their wall, continuous miners and belt heads. "The coal producer made the decision to add DUST- GRIP TURBO on four of their continuous miner super sections and longwall section," the company said, noting that the product has been formulated to lower water surface tension, allowing it to penetrate and effectively knock down dust particles. Since the addition of the dust suppressant, according to testimonials, respirable coal dust levels have been reduced 42% from 1.65 mg/m 3 to 0.95 mg/m 3 . Also, the water lines going to the continuous miner have stayed clean and staff are cleaning out and changing the water sprays on the continuous miner less often. The operator also reported back to Quaker that it is now using DUSTGRIP 007 dust suppressants on its road- ways, and is witnessing a reduction in the amount of respirable dust generated. DUSTGRIP 007 suppresses fugitive dust emissions in areas such as haul/unpaved roads, ore and mineral stockpiles, construction sites, quarries, and other areas where dust may be a problem.

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