Lubricating Oil Filtration Extends the Service Life of Equipment

Lubricating oil is usually recirculated to the bearings in a closed circuit. The closed circuit generally consists of a lubricating oil tank, a pump unit, a heat exchanger with transfer valves and filter. These systems provide the bearings on the turbine shaft with clean oil at the required pressure, temperature, and quantity. The main sources of contamination comes from the wear of components in the system, debris, sludge, and particulate matters generated by aging oil.

Lubricating oil filtration is the process of separating impurities from the lubricating oil. The lubricating oil is pumped into the filter that captures and removes the particles, thus effectively removing particles with diameters as small as a few micrometers.

• Dirt Holding Capacity The more pleats a filter has, the more debris it can hold, and the longer service life it can be used.
• Capture Efficiency Choose filters with different average pore sizes based on the properties of different filter materials to get optimal capture efficiency
• Maximum Allowable Pressure Drop In the process of filtration, pores gradually become blocked, pressure drop also increases as well. Therefore, the greater the maximum allowable pressure drop, the longer service life of the filter.

Filter elements are used to remove foreign matters from the lubricating oil system and ensure that downstream mechanical components are not eroded or damaged by foreign matters. Effective filtration can prevent contaminants from entering sensitive parts of the engine, thereby reducing the wear of engine. Depending on the specific working conditions and filter materials, filter elements with different capture efficiencies are selected. Choosing filters with a higher dirt holding capacity, it will also have a larger maximum allowable pressure drop and longer service life.