While the straight up grease cost is an important consideration, maintenance engineers recognize the importance of high quality lubricants and correct lubrication practices for effective plant maintenance and a reliable process. Factors such as grease consumption, replacement of spares, production downtime, manpower for re-lubrication exercise etc. can impact process parameters and reduce long-term expenses. This holistic approach not only enhances lifespan and reliability of machinery but also contributes to overall productivity and cost-effective operations.

Why consider high performance greases in animal feed pellet mills ?

The feed mill is a fully mechanized process and bearings play a key role. Besides enabling the grinding and pelleting of feed ingredients, bearings support the rotating shafts in feed mixers.  However, during pellet production these pelletizing machines operate under extreme conditions including high temperature, pressure, water vapor and contaminants, which can impact bearing performance and consequently, the process efficiency.

Also the method of grease application, amount of grease applied can affect functionality of the roller bearings. For example over lubrication bearings can result in grease leakage and risk of feed contamination.

Regular lubricants and challenges for effective lubrication of bearings in pellet presses

• The bearing press typically operate at high temperatures (90-100˚C). Continuous exposure to such high temperatures can impact health of the grease film in bearings leading to metal-to-metal contact and wear
• Base oil evaporation and subsequent grease loss from bearings often accelerate grease consumption
• With regular greases, prolonged exposure to high temperatures can lead to buildup of solid residues of thickener in the bearings that can obstruct fresh grease flow and starve the friction zones.
• In addition to high temperatures, moisture condensation during idle time can also lead to corrosion of the bearings. Hence, the lubricant needs to form a protective shield against corrosion
• Equipment downtime during peak operations negatively impacts reduces productivity

Selection of grease with an appropriate formulation for pellet presses is critical to mitigate maintenance expenses and productivity losses. Grease suitable for bearings operating in extremely dusty and moist environments must offer effective sealing in addition to lubrication.

Customer : A leading Indian manufacturer of pellet and crumble feed, with a production capacity exceeding 20 TPH, also operates poultry breeding farms and hatcheries. The fully automated, state-of-the-art facility is designed to meet extensive in-house requirements.

Operation conditions of the pellet press:

No of machine -2

Machine Type PM615XW

Application- Main drive shaft of press roller bearings

Bearing Type – Single row taper roller bearing no. 32220

Bearing Speed- 540 RPM

Operating temperature – 110˚ C

Greasing method – Single line automatic lubrication system

Grease flow time- 2 mins once for every 10 mins of idle time

Quantity of grease flow – 6.81 grams in 2 mins

Customer was using a lithium complex grease from a reputed brand “X”.

Issues faced by the customer:

• Due to the demanding operating conditions, lifespan of pellet roller bearings decreased to a maximum of three months, with multiple instances of premature bearing failures within a single month
• With process temperatures nearing 110˚ C approximately, cake like formation of grease was observed in bearings due to evaporation of base oil
• In order to avoid lubricant starvation, the grease pump was operated continuously resulting in higher consumption of grease
• With regular bearing failures, the unplanned equipment downtime to replace bearings in the rollers resulted in production loss
• Occasional mild contamination of oozed grease from the bearings with chicken feed led to batch rejections

Having assessed the above issues, the Bechem team recommended the specially formulated polyurea thickened high temperature grease, Berutemp M2 KN, designed for superior performance of the pellet roller bearings.

Trial result :

• 40 % reduction in grease consumption
• No bearing failure during trial period
  • Lifespan of bearings for pellet rollers doubled
• Eliminated grease leakage from bearings, reducing the risk of contamination and batch rejection.
• No lump/cake formation of grease was observed at elevated process temperatures of 110˚ C

Why Berutemp M 2 KN?

• Longer service life: Inspite of exposure to process temperaures of over 110˚C, Berutemp M2 KN retained its consistency by preventing base oil oxidation and also ensured a resilient lubrication film on bearings
• Protection for bearings – Formulated with highly structured polyurea thickener with high shear stability, Berutemp M2 KN protects bearings from friction, wear for longer duration
• Excellent thermal stability – Based on high viscosity base oil of 490 cSt, Berutemp M2 KN remains stable and provides effective lubrication at high temperatures.
• Prevents corrosion – Berutemp M2 KN protects bearings from corrosion and damage caused by moisture or water ingress
• Fortified with anti-wear additives and high viscous base oil, Berutemp M2 KN maintains lubrication effectiveness, preventing metal-to-metal contact and potential damage to bearings.

After monitoring an extended two-month trial, no bearing failures were observed and substantial cost savings was achieved, the customer switched to Berutemp M2 KN.

For further details of the product, comparison chart and trial samples, write to us at [email protected]

Support response: Median email response time of less than 3 hours.

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Premature failure of high speed bearings installed at the dryer section of paper machine were a regular phenomenon at an integrated paper plant. The bearing failures resulted in undesired production downtime and a constant worry to the Maintenance Department. High temperatures averaging about 90°C to 100°C was recorded at these bearings. While high process temperature was suspected initially , the temperature difference between the shaft and plummer block did not support the theory. It was dire situation for the Maintenance team.

Set up by India’s reputed Corporate house with established businesses in various sectors, the modern paper manufacturing plant is credited as country’s largest integrated paper unit. The plant with advanced machinery, manufactures fine paper, paper boards for packaging and graphic solutions and helps the company in maintaining the leadership position in Indian fine paper market and value added paperboard segments.

The integrated paper unit has the complete set up from debarking and wood chipping to pulping and refining sections to the final process output at the paper machine. At the paper machine, stock from the pulping process is woven to continuous paper, stretched into paper film, pressed, dried and finally rolled into bales.

During a regular prospecting visit by the Bechem Application Engineering team to the unit, the Plant Head expressed his concern regarding repeated premature bearing failures fans at the dryer fan section of a paper machine. The maintenance team had the understanding that heat transfer from the ‘hot air blowing’ over the shaft could be the reason for abnormal temperature rise in the bearing and thereby its failure. The Bechem team however suspected that the issue could be related to inadequate lubrication and requested the Plant head for a lubrication audit of the dryer section. Having received the approval, the Bechem team methodically studied and arrived at the conclusion that ‘inadequate lubrication’ indeed was the primary reason for bearing failures.

The team initially monitored and recorded temperatures of bearings at both, drive end (DE) and non drive end (NDE) of motors in about eight applications. The spherical roller bearings included that of the heater and hot air blower fans, drier and recirculation fans, pre coat supply fan, post size press fan as well as vacuum fans. Temperature readings of bearings that noted higher temperature consistently are given below for reference,

Temperature measured near the fan housing did not cross 65 °C probably due to the thermal insulation provided, however the bearings operating in the plummer block recorded much higher temperatures.

Detailed study of the applications revealed that the abnormal temperature rise in the plummer block bearings was majorly due to lubrication failure

DN Value can be calculated using below given formula
D*N = Ka * n * dm

Lubrication quantity: Considering the bearing types, application and recommended grease, Bechem’s in house lubrication procedure recommended an average quantity of 42 g. per bearing instead of the earlier maintenance practice of 150-200 g.

Based on the comprehensive report submitted to the Plant Head, an opportunity was provided to prove Berutox FB 22’s performance in one of the critical fan bearings . Having thoroughly cleaned the bearings, an exact quantity of 42 g was measured and manually applied on bearings at both ,drive and non drive ends. The trial lasted for 15 days with the temperature being measured for every 3 hours.

Apart from the reduction in bearing temperatures, no bleeding of oil was observed during the trial period. As expected, no bearing failures was reported

• Using Berutox FB 22, Customer experienced reduction of 25-30°C in bearing temperatures
• Lubrication interval increased from 7 to 30 days. No bearing failure has been reported at the plant in drier section for almost 18 months after shifting to Berutox FB 22 spindle bearing grease
• No production downtime due to bearing failures. Currently all high speed spindle bearings in the drier section of the paper machine run with Berutox FB 22 high speed spindle bearing grease