Valmet, a global leader in the global pulp, paper and energy industries, is responsible for maintenance of the Orora-B9 paper machine in Matraville, Sydney. The plant was installed in 2012 and a recent contamination issue led to FPES (Excel Hydraulics) being invited to take our exclusive FluidCare Technology™ service to their site.
Before we arrived the return oil in the machine was tested and rated at ISO23/21/18. Carbon and ferrous particulates were detected. The machine was shut down and the readings rose to 26/24/21. Elements of varnish were also discovered in the fluid. This was well in excess of Valmet’s cleanliness target of 17/15/12. The filters were changed over but this didn’t make any impact on the contamination and the figures remained the same.
We towed our mobile rig to the site and connected it straight into the Orora-B9. Fluid Care Technology combines a centrifuge separator with a vacuum dehydrator and a series of filters. In this case, a 5 micron pressure filter, 2 micron depth filter and a block filter.
The machine’s fluid were passed through this series of filtration units over a 24 hour period and when it came time to take the reading the numbers had fallen to an acceptable 15/13/10.
Valmet’s report said that there was a significant reduction in particulate size and volume, there was notable improvement in reducing oil odour, and they were now able to get far better performance from the machine’s feed filters.
Condition Monitoring Specialist David Gill was very appreciative of the results, “A big thank you to FPES (Excel Hydraulics) for excellent service since commissioning B9. We would not have been able to keep the machine running without your help. A special thank you to Daniel who persevered throughout the job and kept me up to date with cleanliness and progress.”
Copyright FPES 2020