On a modern merchant ship, there are hundreds of machines that make up the ship's power system and auxiliary systems for daily operations. In order to ensure safe production and operation, it is necessary to ensure the smooth and reliable operation of machinery and equipment, and lubricating oil is extremely important to the operation of machinery and equipment, and the quality and technical indicators related to lubricating oil are also one of the measures to evaluate the performance of machinery and equipment. The main function of marine lubricating oil is to form an oil film to reduce friction and noise of mechanical moving parts, to remove the heat generated by cooling, and to protect the metal from corrosion. Lubricating oil does not actually wear, but its lubricating quality will affect its quality and life due to pollution such as moisture, mechanical wear, fuel oil, combustion products, etc. However, the common mechanical equipment failure problems caused by unpurified lubricating oil over time include reduced fuel efficiency, reduced load capacity, acid corrosion of metal parts, bacterial corrosion, etc., and severe cases such as diesel crankcase explosions and even crew lives. Casualties and damage to ship property. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the relevant performance characteristics of lubricating oil, such as viscosity, alkalinity, anti-wear, anti-oxidation, cleanliness and dispersion, stability, etc., to ensure that machinery and equipment are in good condition, reduce machine damage and failure, and ensure the safety of ship navigation . To this end, we need to properly separate and purify the lubricating oil through the Lube Oil Purifier to maintain the quality of the lubricating oil to prolong its service life, and at the same time, it can save energy and reduce consumption and reduce operating costs.

At present, in addition to filtration, condition monitoring, and regular sampling and testing to control the quality and technical indicators of the system lubricating oil of the main propulsion power unit and the generator diesel engine, the key is continuous purification during operation to maintain the quality of the lubricating oil and prolong the service life. (The lubricating oil of some other auxiliary or small mechanical equipment is ensured by filtering, monitoring the quality condition and replacing it if necessary)

What is a lubricating Lube Oil Purifier

A lubricating Oil Purifier is a mechanical device used to separate impurities (such as water and solid particles, etc.) in lubricating oil. There are three ways to purify lubricating oil: centrifugal method, filtration method, and merger method. In this article, we will discuss centrifugation, as it is the most commonly used method for decontamination of lubricating oils on ships.

Reasons why centrifugation is superior to other purification methods: removes water and solid impurities in a single operation; small particles can also be cleaned effectively; requires minimal or very low maintenance (which in turn increases process uptime); low installation costs, equipment life long. Therefore, the centrifuge is the preferred equipment for lubricating oil purification. It separates solid impurities and water by centrifugal force according to the density difference of the two liquid substances.

The working principle of centrifugal Lube Oil Purifier

Centrifuge is one of the most important auxiliary equipment on ships. Its working principle is to separate oil, water and impurities of different specific gravity by centrifugal force generated by high-speed rotation.

The traditional method is gravity settling separation, but it takes time because gravity is the only force for settling. However, in the centrifuge, the centrifugal force field is thousands of times more efficient than the gravitational field of oil, water, and impurities, and the purification time is shorter and the purification quality is higher. Based on the centrifugal purification principle, the unpurified lubricating oil is introduced into the separation cylinder of the Lube Oil Purifier through the oil supply pump for centrifugal motion, and the impurities with the highest density are thrown to the outermost periphery, and the slag is removed regularly by manual or program control. The water is guided and discharged in the middle, and the oil with the least density flows inward from the outlet near the rotating shaft and is discharged back into the mechanical system or a suitable oil tank.