International marine lubricants supplier Total Lubmarine has developed a range of biodegradable products which will enable companies in the shipping industry to improve their environmental footprint without compromising performance or safety.
Total Lubmarine is now offers: Carter Bio, a high-gear performance lubricant; Biohydran TMP, a hydraulic lubricant; and Biomultis SEP 2, an extreme-pressure multipurpose grease.
Patrick Havil, Marketing Manager of Lubmarine, said, “It is simply not possible to guarantee a zero-risk of spillage with regard to onboard operations. The potential for lubricant leakage on board ship is high. It exists across so many traditional shipping-related activities involving everything from engine operation to thruster and stern-tube performance, from cranes to winches to pumps. Such leaks can occur for a variety of reasons, from mechanical failure to human error. So, since it is not feasible to eliminate mechanical failure and human error entirely, the only way to limit the harmful and damaging effect of oil spillages at sea is to use biodegradable lubricants.
Manufacturing new biodegradable lubricants which do not affect performance, however, is not a straightforward undertaking. The main raw material used to produce such products, base oil, has to be changed, and all the properties introduced by mineral-based oils such as high oxidation resistance and thermal stability are not present in the chemical compounds found in biodegradable oil. This means that, for a biodegradable product to perform as effectively and efficiently as a mineral oil-based product, its formulation has to be completely redeveloped. Now, following extensive testing over a period of years at its dedicated research centre at Solaize in France, Total Lubmarine has now completed that redevelopment to produce a range of high-performance products eminently suitable for use in the shipping industry."
A customer recently used Biomultis SEP 2 to lubricate the cutter shaft bearing on a dredger working on a major project in a port operating a zero-spill policy. The customer was reported satisfaction with the product's lubricating properties and, most importantly, with the fact that the cutter-shaft bearing temperatures remained stable throughout operations. Other equipment, such as the stud pole slideways and the connection joint to the floating discharge line, can also be lubricated with Biomultis SEP 2, one of the big advantages of which is that the vessel's hull and the area around the cutter ladder remain clean, with the result that far less cleaning is required to remove the used grease.