The backbone of industrial operations, India’s steel industry is among the largest in the world. According to estimates by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the country produced the second highest amount of crude steel in June 2021, and is expected to witness further growth in the days to come. Steel manufacturers today, thus, are keen to maximize profits by increasing equipment life – and for this, choosing the most appropriate lubrication solution is key.

Leading lubricant providers like MobilTM Lubricants have been spearheading innovation in this field while collaborating closely with steel manufacturers to attend to their individual operational challenges. Mobil’s association with Bhilai Steel Plant, one of India’s leading steel plants, is one such instance of close industry association.

Association with Bhilai Steel Plant
Located in Chhattisgarh, Bhilai Steel Plant is one of India’s leading steel producers and the only manufacturer of rails that are used by the Indian Railways. The Bhilai steel mill had been lubricating its finishing stands of wire rod mill with Mobil Vacuoline™ 525 from inception till April 2015. Thereafter, due to some compulsions, they had to shift to an NOC (ISO VG 100) conventional mineral oil for B-strands finishing stand lubrication. Since then, the team at Bhilai had been encountering problems in extensive filter clogging, heavy sludge deposition, higher equipment downtime and significant production loss.

To seek assistance and fix the anomaly, Bhilai Steel Plant approached Mobil’s Field Engineering Services (FES) team for advice. The FES team conducted an application assessment study to thoroughly review the problem and identify precise solutions. Thereafter, the team recommended the plant to resume the use of Mobil Vacuoline 525 circulating oil – a part of the Mobil VacuolineTM 500 Series. The Mobil Vacuoline 500 Series lubricants are high performance heavy duty circulating oils and their all-round performance makes them an excellent choice for circulation systems, lubricating gears and bearings.

By resuming use of Mobil Vacuoline 525, Bhilai Steel Plant fetched positive gains and significantly reduced mill downtime while reporting revenue improvement of Rs 17,440,320. Further, filter life was increased while oil sludge deposits were decreased, resulting in reduction of waste lube generation by 2,160 litre and man-hours for maintenance were reduced by 216 hours.

Innovation at Mobil
With 150 years of experience in formulating the most advanced lubrication solutions, Mobil has earned its reputation as a leading industrial provider. It offers a range of formulations in hydraulic oils, engine oils, gear and bearing oils, greases, and more. Mobil is receiving wide appreciation for its Mobil Vacuoline 500 Series circulating oils. These oils have been formulated from high quality base stocks and a proprietary additive system to provide superior wettability, extra oil retention and thin film protection against rust and corrosion. Mobil Vacuoline 500 gives excellent resistance to oxidation and thermal degradation, and a high level of protection against wear.

They possess excellent demulsibility that permits water and other contaminants to separate readily from the oil in the system reservoir.

These oils are intended primarily for the lubrication of plain bearings, roller bearings, parallel shaft, and bevel gearing. The Mobil Vacuoline 500 Series oils possess good demulsibility properties that are retained even under conditions of severe water contamination. These oils are used in applications using splash, bath and ring oil arrangements and all other application methods involving pumps, valves and auxiliary equipment. They are particularly resistant to the effects of prolonged high temperature exposure and perform well in circulating systems with short oil residence times. This makes them especially useful for the steel industry where operations are often conducted under extreme conditions.

The steel industry is marked by an ever-increasing demand for innovative machinery and equipment solutions that can cater to diverse field applications. Pioneering innovation and technology, Mobil’s solutions cater to this evolving demand of heavy industries.

For more information, visit www.mobil.in/business

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