The facts behind lubrication problems in
wastewater treatment plants
By Chris Barnes, P.Eng., MBA
Lubrication Engineers of Canada
Above is a brief summary of the most frequent problems found in wastewater treatment plants and how they
are solved.
Proper maintenance of the
equipment in wastewater disposal
is becoming more important
and increasingly complex.
There have been many new technical
developments (some mandated by
the EPA, OSHA and the USDA/FDA)
and a great deal of new, modern equipment
put into use.
The impact of federal legislation
dealing with water quality and pollution
has had a major effect on wastewater
engineering. There is a much greater
emphasis on the reuse of wastewater
and land treatment systems. Tertiary
and advanced treatment systems are becoming
standards rather than utopian
ideas.
All of this advancement and sophistication demands more highly trained people and also much better knowledge and good practice in the field of maintenance and lubrication. More complex machinery and processes require better knowledge of lubricants and their application.
Lack of knowledge in either area can create problems,
but especially in the knowledge of application. It still costs four
or five times as much to apply the lubricant as it does to buy the lubricant.
Lubrication, of course, is the lifeblood of any mechanical system, but
even more so of the wastewater disposal
systems. The lubricant, oil or grease, is
constantly harassed, diluted or destroyed
by water, sand, dirt, dust, acids, caustics,
cold, heat and the dynamics of the
chemical processes involved.
One of the most important considerations
in these present times is that a
judicious selection of quality lubricants
can reduce energy consumption, as well
as reduce lubricant cost and prolong
equipment life. A carefully selected lubricant
can pay for itself many times over, especially when compared to the
lowest priced lubricants available on the
market for the cost of the lubricant is
dwarfed by the value of the equipment that it is protecting.
Solutions to many of the toughest maintenance problems faced by wastewater treatment plants have been developed by Lubrication Engineers and have been proven in thousands of plants around the world.
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