The value of antioxidant monitoring
for Biogas Engine Lubricants
With the decrease of the fossil energy sources, the energy industry stands
before the challenge, to develop a durable safe power supply due to the
protection requirements of the environment and the global climate. Obviously to
meet these goals, the industry is applying new energy sources, and for example
Europe will by 2050 use 90% from its energy from renewable energy sources. Wind,
water, sun and biomass are going to be the 4 energy sources, and more than 30%
of the energy will be applied from biomass.
What biomass sources will be used? Liquid muck, harvest arrears, wastes from
treatment of food and household, Energy- and oil plants, starch -and sugar
plants etc…
Once the biogas is collected, after fermentation under anaerobe conditions, the
gas will be containing beside the biogas (methane), also all kind of
contaminations (sulfur, ammonia, Silicium, C02), which are largely depending
from its energy source.
Gas treatment processes will remove partially the contamination, but the
remaining contamination will represent a higher stress on the gas engine
lubricants, and result in excessive oil degradation;
Typically with biogas engines, ranging from a less than 100 KW till over 5000
KW, special oil formulations have been made available, in order to meet the high
oxidation and nitration requirements. These oil formulations apply usually
zinc-free type of antioxidant additives, which can belong to the classes of
aromatic amines, phenols, phenates, and salicylates.
The RULER technology, by using the RULER BLUE Test solutions, will be the in the
perfect position to detect the above type of antioxidants, in a wide range of
existing type of biogas engine oils.
The graph below shows you a typical printout from a biogas engine oil,
consisting of a multi-antioxidant –additive package:
 With several installations of RULER for international biogas
plants, RULER customers have reported that following significant savings can be
achieved:
1)
Condition Based Maintenance
- With oil reservoirs volume which vary between 50 and 300 liter of oil,
significant cost savings can be made by changing the oil on condition, rather
than on time ( a life time between 500 and 1500 hours)
2)
Avoid excessive base-oil degradation
– Avoid ring and piston deposits on internals of engines, due to exhaust of
lubricants
3)
Trend oil oxidation – detect alarm signals by differentiating normal from
abnormal working engines, before severe degradation occurs
4)
Quality control incoming oil batches
– assure incoming oil quality, and avoid
mixtures of low-quality, non-conform oils.
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