Lubricant production is energy-intensive. A lot of energy is required from the refined crude oil to the finished lubricant. Accordingly, theCO2 balance of engine and hydraulic oil, concrete release agents, cutting and grinding oil is not exactly rosy. For years, the lubricant specialist Zeller+Gmelin has therefore been making intensive efforts to improve itsCO2 footprint: A current example is the production ofCO2-optimized industrial lubricants through recycling.
The environment and sustainability have long been important to Zeller+Gmelin. Even if it doesn't always seem so easy for a chemical company, constant dripping wears away the stone. The lubricant experts from Eislingen are therefore looking at all areas to see if anything can be sustainably changed and improved for the benefit of the environment. Dispensing with the manufacture of products containing boric acid is one such example in the direction of sustainability, environmental and health protection. For many years now, new lubricant products such as concrete release agents, chainsaw and lawnmower oils have also been developed as environmentally friendly bio-lubricants. The lubricant manufacturer's sustainable product portfolio also includes environmentally friendly bio-hydraulic oils for the automotive and motor vehicle sector, especially for outdoor use. The reconditioning of used drums and containers in a kind of recycling loop was also a large-scale project to conserve resources. Reconditioned drums not only conserve material resources, but also have a significantly lowerCO2 footprint than newly manufactured drums. The most important step on this sustainability path so far has probably been the determination of the company's ownCO2 footprint by means of aCO2 balance and the associated achievement of climate neutrality on the basis of the value-adding and recognized KEFF check.
Recycling with tradition
The idea of recycling is by no means new at the long-established Swabian company and has its roots as far back as 1935: the subsidiary Südöl has been collecting and recycling lubricants and industrial cleaners for almost 90 years. Among other things, Südöl recycles used machine and engine oils and processes them into new base oils and fuels. Reprocessing base oils and returning them to the material cycle as fresh oils not only conserves resources, but also consumes less energy: theCO2 footprint of recycled oil is significantly lower than that of fresh oil production. "The conscientious use of resources and responsibility towards our environment are key components of our corporate philosophy," emphasizes Jürgen Wranik, Head of R&D Lubricants at Zeller+Gmelin. "We are seeing an increasing demand for sustainable solutions and are therefore consistently pursuing a range of developments and measures to reduce emissions or avoid them altogether."
From soft fission to the use of biogenic raw materials
One of these measures is the production ofCO2-optimized lubricants. As is well known, there are always three ways to achieve a goal, including an improvedCO2 footprint in lubricant production. "When recycling industrial lubricants, we rely on three processes: firstly, so-called "soft splitting", then recycling with refining and finally new development from biogenic raw materials. We have been using the latter for many years in the development of lubricants in the agricultural and forestry sectors," says Jürgen Wranik. So what applies to the environmentally friendly, water-based Divinol chainsaw and lawnmower oils is now also being implemented in lubricants for metalworking: the use of biogenic raw materials in new developments of cooling lubricants, grinding oils or wire drawing agents. The "gentle splitting" of used oils separates oil-water phases, removes deposits through filtration and purifies it. With the help of refining, a used oil is refined into a secondary raffinate so that, according to Zeller+Gmelin, an exceptionally sustainable base oil is created that is virtually waste-free. Biogenic, CO2-optimized lubricants are developed when recycling is not possible, for example in the case of consumable lubricants, punching oils or corrosion protection.
CO2-saving foxes
Industrial companies are obliged to dispose of their used oil properly and this costs money. Even though the trend in metal cutting is towards minimum quantity lubrication (MQL), vast quantities of used lubricants still accumulate. By returning them to the recycling loop, not only can immense costs be saved, but resources and the environment can be protected at the same time. Large quantities of high-quality, non-water-miscible oil are usually dragged out during machining, grinding or forming. During machining, the lubricant ends up in the waste container together with the chips, for example via a chip conveyor. This in turn goes to a disposal company that separates the metal chips and lubricant. The metal is recycled as a raw material, the lubricant is usually not. This is similar to other processing methods such as deep drawing sheet metal. There, the drawing agents used are dragged out via the parts washer during cleaning, for example. Industrial companies have to dispose of the mixture of drawing agent, parts cleaner, water, surfactants and solid particles at great expense. Head of Lubricants R&D Jürgen Wranik: "This is exactly where our concept comes in. For us, used oil from metalworking is a valuable raw material that we are happy to take back and reuse." This improves both the waste balance and the CO2 footprint of metalworking companies. When using fresh oil in lubricant production, the rising base oil prices have a significant impact, which is not the case when reusing the company's own recyclate. According to Zeller+Gmelin, cost savings of between 30-50 percent can be achieved by using a recyclate instead of fresh oil in the lubricant. The lubricant manufacturer's test laboratory in Eislingen ensures the consistently high quality of the process oil in circulation.