Early Warning for Intrusion

We’ve all heard the saying “water and oil don’t mix”. While that statement sounds rather benign,  the resulting damage from water in oil can be devastating to all types of motors. According to Noria, water intrusion in lubricants can reduce bearing life by as much as 80%.

IntelliStick has a client which operates a packaging mill in the Midwest. Because of the nature of the mill, it is a “wet” environment and maintenance engineers expect some level of water intrusion, especially in gear boxes in close proximity to water used in the manufacturing process. But while some levels of intrusion are considered acceptable,  others are considered severe and must be identified immediately in order to minimize the damage to the bearings and avoid costly plant shut downs. The graph, below, represents the raw data from the IntelliStick which identified a serious water intrusion and alerted the customer about the problem.

Water Intrusion

that’s one BIG engine

Last month the IntelliStick engineers installed a dipstick product at a paper mill in Los Angeles, CA. When I heard it was being installed in a cogen engine I knew it would be bigger than a breadbox, but I had no idea it would be housed in a cargo container! Check it out:

Cogenerator Reciprocating Engine

The 20 cylinder natural gas engine burns natural gas to make electricity, saving the plant more than 25% in energy costs. Also, its exhaust gas is used to dry the paper. The engine has accumulated 20,000 hrs in run time in 3 years, which is the equivalent of running it 18 hours per day. 

New Technology Successfully Retrofits Older Big Rig Engines

A new exhaust emission control system from Johnson Matthey has been successfully tested in Southern California. Last month Johnson Matthey, along with Cummins Emissions Solutions, retrofitted 16 older (1998-2004) Class 8 grocery trucks with a new four-way SCRT  system that reduces particulate matter by more than 85%, NOx (nitrogen oxides – a heavy contributor to smog) by 60-80%, and carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by more than 90%.  In one instance the NOx emissions from a four-year old truck were lower than those of a brand brand new 2008 truck.

 You can read the full article on the Fuel Advantage web site.

This technology could be one solution for trucking companies who must comply with California’s tough air quality regulations, which will only get tougher as time goes on.