MAXIMISING CORROSION PROTECTION AT GREASE POINTS

Fluctuating markets and private interests mean that equipment and facility layup is a fact of life. Whether the shutdown at a paper mill, offshore platform, refinery, or power plant is temporary or permanent, asset owners must decide how to preserve equipment value and maintain reliability. Meanwhile, the ubiquitous presence of metal-to-metal contact points demands special attention to the layup of lubricating systems. Cortec’s CorrLube VpCI Lithium EP Grease seeks to simplify the process and enhance corrosion protection.

While grease inherently offers a degree of corrosion protection simply by creating a barrier to corrosives, layup can be a time of greater vulnerability for lubricated systems, especially in environments that are harsher than others. For example, paper mills are notorious for excessive water, H2S, and other corrosive gases from papermaking processes. FPSOs (Floating Production Storage and Offloading units) and offshore platforms are surrounded by high moisture, high chloride atmospheres often made more corrosive by warm climates. If lube areas are corroded during this idle period, the greased components may work improperly or require early replacement.

Purging lube points with CorrLube VpCI Lithium EP Grease is an excellent way to combat corrosion during layup to promote a smooth return to startup. In addition to helping seal out corrosives, this NLGI Grade 2 grease has superior corrosion inhibiting properties against salt water, brine, H2S, HCl, and other corrosive agents that may find their way into the lubricating system. It has excellent oxidation resistance and can be used for long periods of layup.

Usually, preservation and maintenance crews need to use one grease for operation and another for layup. This complicates matters when equipment needs to be restarted only for a brief period. Normally, this would require workers to remove special grease for layup and replace it with operational grease. However, since CorrLube VpCI Lithium EP Grease is effective in extreme operating conditions of high pressure and high temperature, it can be used for intermittent operation and may not even need to be removed before full startup, saving time and labour.

CorrLube VpCI Lithium EP Grease can be applied to any lubricating systems and grease points that require NLGI Grade 2 grease. Some common examples include the following:

• Lubricating sleeves
• Ball and roller bearings
• Vehicle/equipment chassis links
• Fans
• Bushings
• Pulley bearings
• Sliding high-friction areas

More specific areas might be gearbox gear couplings, ring and ball gears on cranes, fan bearings on AC units and cooling towers, and grease fittings on watertight doors and hatches for FPSO bridges, storage compartments, and control rooms.

Using the right grease is important for the proper preservation and operation of lubricated systems on countless pieces of equipment. By choosing to purge grease points with CorrLube VpCI Lithium EP Grease during layup, preservation crews have an excellent advantage over corrosion with the convenience of fewer grease changes.