Optioil – Fluid management 365 - English

Cloppenburg-based Optioil GmbH offers professional fluid management with an emphasis on ecological sustainability – 365 days a year. With its trained and certified specialist staff as well as its extensive equipment, the company is a expert and manufacturer-independent partner in all matters relating to lubricant care.

In addition, Optioil makes a substantial contribution to minimising damage to the environment – because oil care produces a marked reduction in CO2 emissions. The company‘s range of services covers all areas relating to the professional fluid management of system oil charges: oil analyses and purity checks, filtration technology and drying, system cleaning and disposal. Optioil works for the customer by ensuring the maximum operational safety of all components that are supplied with oil. Its experienced practitioners can overcome major challenges in a professional and sustainable way.

Maintenance instead of disposal

Oils are indispensable for the operation of e.g. turbine and hydraulic systems. However, operational stoppages during oil changes, the disposal of waste oil and acquiring new oil can substantially increase operating costs. This is where Optioil‘s philosophy comes into play: maintaining the oil and thus being able to use it for longer not only saves procurement and disposal costs but also reduces the impact on the environment. After all, the disposal of every litre of oil adds approximately 2.6 kg CO2 to the atmosphere. Every litre of well-maintained oil that continues to be in use helps protect the environment.

Holistic, not selective

Before every treatment, Optioil gathers all available information about the lubricants used. The system, the lubricant type and the individual service conditions – all these facts are considered as an interactive whole. An OELCHECK lubricant analysis specially selected for each usage case contributes by supplying the most important data about the condition of the oil. Together with the customer, Optioil then draws up a schedule of what steps to take next. After this, Optioil carries out the measures required, such as a special filtration or a drying of the oil, a system clean or – in the worst case – an oil change.

For large and small

Optioil primarily deals with hydraulic and turbine fluids. This can involve both smaller amounts of hydraulic oil from personal or goods lifts, as well as several thousands of litres, such as from body presses in the car industry, injection-moulding machines in plastics processing or bale presses in recycling plants. Turbines and jet-engine compressors from power plants and the chemical industry will work in a highly efficient manner and under extreme continuous loads. Optioil monitors and maintains the turbine oils, thus ensuring the systems‘ reliable availability.
Support from OELCHECK
The specialists of Optioil have been familiar with OELCHECK for years. They use the lubricant analyses for initial diagnostics, control, preventive and documentation purposes. The analyses also play an important role in testing cleaned and/or dried oils for suitability for further use. A treated lubricant is only used again if the trend comparison of laboratory results shows a noticeable improvement in behaviour. The assessment examines – among other things – the purity of the oil, the remaining water content and – for turbine oils – also signs that deposits, i.e. a ‚varnish‘, may have formed. Several thousand litres of oil are in use in turbines and large oil circulation systems, often for several years. This can result in the depletion of additives or the formation of ageing products in the oil. Without careful monitoring through trend analyses, sludge-generating contaminants or adhesive reaction products remain undiscovered for a long time. ‚Varnish‘ can be deposited on control valves and plain bearings, and reduce the flow of oil or accumulate as oil sludge in oil-bearing pipes or in the tank. Optioil minimises the risk with regular trend analyses, and in particular OELCHECK‘s MPC test.
The MPC test (Membrane Patch Colorimetry) is the only standardised test method in the world that can not only detect insoluble oil residues, but also quantitatively evaluate them. The MPC index is expressed as a numerical value between 0 and 100. The higher the MPC index, the greater danger that sludge and varnish-like deposits will form. For turbine oil, the upper limit value lies at 60.
Last-minute rescue
One German-based company that regularly uses Optioil‘s services is Vattenfall – one of Europe‘s largest energy producers. In one Vattenfall power plant, consistent monitoring of the oil in a gas turbine has already more than paid for itself. In the summer 2014, the turbine oil was examined as a precautionary measure for possible deposits using an OELCHECK MPC test. The MPC index ascertained was extremely high.
An immediate danger therefore for the 17,000 l of turbine oil and the gas turbine‘s operational safety! However, Optioil knew what to do. Instead of a costly system clean and the resulting stoppage, a special varnish filtration technology was deployed that, acting as a kind of artificial ‚kidney‘, was used to continually remove the contamination. The values of the oil were constantly monitored in the OELCHECK laboratory, and when, after only four weeks of by-pass filtration, the MPC index had fallen to an impressive 7.5, the proof was in: the varnish filtration technology deployed by Optioil had proved its effectiveness.

By the way: Another Vattenfall coal-fired power station has placed its trust in Optioil‘s comprehensive Fluid Management 365. This includes complete oil analytics in cooperation with OELCHECK and Vattenfall, as well as all service and lubrication work on the moving components.