Drives & Controls March 2022

n TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY n March 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 18 THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has awarded SKF a €1.62m grant to install and operate a plant to regenerate industrial oils in Tudela, Spain. The project – due to come on stream in the second quarter of 2022 – will remove contaminants from used oils and return them to the same condition as they were when new, thus cutting CO 2 emissions. The project will allow industrial oils that would usually need to be disposed of at end of their lives – typically using incineration – to be recovered and re-used. The Spanish plant will be based on a two-step process known as Double Separation Technology (DST) that removes almost all impurities from the oil, returning it to clean, high-grade state. The DST process, developed by SKF RecondOil, combines chemical and mechanical separation. In the first step, a chemical known as a booster is added to the oil. This attracts dirt – down to nano-sized particles – while leaving essential oil additives intact. In the second step, the dirt is separated, leaving a clean oil that can be regenerated continually. “With this technology we can achieve unprecedented levels of oil cleanliness that enable repeated re-use of oil in the same application,” explains Carl Philip Fredborg, who leads the deployment and aftersales team at SKF RecondOil. “Our service is a technological breakthrough, targeting the implementation of the patented technology at significant commercial scale.” DST reduces the need to produce fossil- based virgin oil, as well as cutting the consumption of fossil fuels and the emissions associated with producing, transporting and disposing of virgin oil. The new plant will treat up to 2.5 million litres of oil each year. It could help to avoid more than 15,000 tonnes of CO 2 emissions during its first 10 years of operation (compared to the same amount of virgin oil being produced, used and disposed of ). SKF says that the technology could be applied in almost any manufacturing industry. The innovation fits in with the EU's strategy of introducing circularity into various sectors of the economy with the aim of cutting the consumption of raw materials, as well as the generation of waste and the emission of greenhouse gases. SKF acquired the DST technology when it bought RecondOil Sweden in 2020. It has since installed DST systems at sites in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Early results from the installations show that the process decreases honing oil and filter consumption “significantly”, as well as producing clean oil. www.skf.com/uk/services/recondoil €1.6m EU grant will help to build plant to regenerate industrial oils The Double SeparationTechnology allows old industrial oils to be re-used as new n Multi-function signal towers ‘will define the future’ WERMA HAS ANNOUNCED a new generation of signal towers that, it believes, will define the future of such systems. The whole cylindrical surface of eSign towers is made up of multi-colour LEDs and can be programmed to perform a variety of roles including alarm signalling, access control, fill level displays, faults, stock information and building security alerts. Various signalling modes can be produced using multiple colours, brightness levels and lighting effects. The towers can also optionally produce acoustic warnings using 10 different tones. The modular towers offer a choice of 9 or 15 segments that encircle the device. Werma says that they are more conspicuous than traditional towers, and will offer users more colours, effects and individuality. They can be serve as classic “traffic light” displays or be programmed to provide customised displays. The towers can be controlled via IO-Link or configured via USB. IP66/IP69k protection ensures that the towers will cope with most substances found in production facilities, while their UL 4X enclosures resist UV radiation and environmental influences. The optional variable-volume sirens that can be configured to suit specific applications and can be can be combined with light effects. www.werma.co.uk Werma’s eSign signal towers use multi-colour LED arrays across their surfaces which can be programmed to perform a variety of functions