Oil Service
CIRCOR provides two technologies that protect your rotating equipment – PurLube and Oil Mist.
PurLube:
If you’ve worked in a power plant‚ you know how difficult it is to keep water out of your machinery and lubrication systems. When water finds its way into a lube oil system‚ it increases the risks of corrosion‚ wear and premature failure.
Commonly installed in a kidney loop off of the main lube oil console; the Purlube is able to pull lubrication oil from the system and return it after treatment. Inside the PurLube‚ oil is heated to 180F without causing thermal or oxidative stress to the oil. Next‚ a venture draws air into the oil creating small air bubbles. When the air bubbles mix with the heated stream of lube oil‚ the volume and surface area of the bubbles expand causing any moisture that contacts the bubbles’ surface to evaporate into the heated air inside the bubbles. The oil stream is them passed through a settling tray allowing the bubbles to come to the surface and break‚ allowing the formerly entrained water to simply escape as evaporating water vapor.
The PurLube system removes all three forms of water contamination in lubrication oil – free‚ emulsified and dissolved – to lower than 100ppm. Additionally‚ the discharge does not contain any oil or emulsion and maintenance is relatively low because the system only has one moving part‚ the oil recirculation pump.
Oil Mist:
Oil mist is a centralized lubrication system used to lubricate specific rolling element bearings‚ pump bearings‚ electric motor drivers‚ bearing housing of small steam turbines with sleeve bearings and purge gearboxes.
The LSC Oil Mist in the oil mist system uses compressed air to atomize oil into micro-size particles‚ which can be effectively moved to lubrication points up to 600 feet (180 meters)‚ through piping and tubing. The benefits of oil mist and lubrication are well documented. Providing the right amount of lubrication to your rotating equipment lowers the bearing temperature‚ reduces energy loss and extends the life of your equipment. Oil mist has reduced bearing failures in centrifugal pumps and electric motors by 90% and increased mean time between failure for mechanical seals by 100%.