Managing Water in Rolling Mill Lubricating Oil

In our last post, Improving Rolling Mill Oil with Vacuum Dehydration, we discussed how the demulsibility (ability of the oil to separate from water) of oil is an important characteristic that greatly influences the effectiveness of the lubricant and how a loss of demulsibility can result in poorly lubricated bearings, unplanned downtime and premature fluid replacement. 

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Do you have desiccant breathers on your hydraulic and lube oil systems? (Here's where we pause with baited breath for you to answer.)

If controlling phosphate ester seems about as elusive as lassoing a bucking bronco, then you've come to the right place. Put on your cowboy hat and let's talk about real solutions to getting it under control.

If the hydraulic, lubricating, compressor or gear oil you use is not made of a water base in formulation , then water is considered a contaminant and must be recognized and managed. 

There are three types of water in a typical system: free water , emulsified water and dissolved water. The water saturation point of most oil, that point above which water is in a free form, is 200-400ppm, depending on age and condition. 

Using 100ppm for an upper water limit for most systems using mineral base oils, this means all free and emulsified water and a significant portion of dissolved water must be removed.

A vacuum dehydrator is one of the very few methods to remove dissolved water from oil. Let's take a look at these three types of water in your system. It will give you a solid foundation for how the vacuum dehydrator works in the end.

Moisture contamination is inherent in the world we live in. In fact, it's all around us; that's what makes it so difficult when it comes to keeping water out of your oil.

The level of water vapor in the air is known as humidity. For example, If there is 80% humidity, the air contains 80% of the total amount of water vapor it can hold at the given temperature. Thus, there's always an amount of water in the air.

Water, it's a compound that is required for practically everything on the earth. But within a lubrication or hydraulic system, it's one of the most damaging contaminants possible. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most common contaminants you'll find in your system. 

When your lubrication or hydraulic system is continuously or even periodically exposed to high water levels, it can result in a mountain of damage. You can find evidence of water contaminant destruction if you look close enough. This damage appears as :