Tag: Storage

How Long is Lubricant’s Shelf Life?

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When buying lubricants, you have to consider how long they will last. For high-volume users, this is not as much of an issue compared to smaller-volume users. High-volume users’ regularly consumer and reorder lubricants and typically have systems in place to monitor usage and spending. Small-volume users might be spread a drum or two of a lubricant through the course of a year. When consumption is spread out, you have to start to consider shelf-life into your purchasing decisions and operational processes.

Where can I find Shelf-Life Information?

Table made by George Wills and Dr. A.R. Landsdown

Information on a lubricant’s shelf life can be found on a technical or safety data sheet. If it is no t clearly defined, manufacturers and distributors can provide guidance on shelf life for its products. However, this information might be based on storage only or based on typical operations. George Wills and Dr. A.R. Landsdown provide a brief list of lubricants and their shelf-lives for products that have shorter shelf-lives.

Some technical data sheets (TDS) can show how long a lubricant can last in use before losing oxidation stability. This is measured in operating hours. Most oxidation tests will show a lubricant can last 5000+, 8000+, 10000+, etc. hours. However, like all scientific tests, this is done in a controlled environment (usually set by ISO or ASTM standards and specifications). We know that not every operating environment is like an ASTM or ISO test.

What Determines a Lubricant’s Shelf Life?

A lubricant’s shelf life depends on a variety of factors; some of which depend on the lubricant itself and some depend on usage. Greases have much shorter shelf life due to the presence of thickeners than oil-based lubricants. Highly-refined and synthetic oils have longer shelf lives due to better molecular stability. This is much more straight-forward and lubricant suppliers can inform you which lubricants last longer than others.

Using a lubricant is different for each operation. Some operations happen at low temperatures, others occur at high temperatures. The Arrhenius rate is a chemistry term that demonstrates how chemical reactions increase by changing temperature. For lubricants, as temperature increases by 10°C (18°F), the oxidation rate will double. The more oxidation that occurs, the faster a lubricant will break down and reduce the shelf life and effective use life.

Machinery Lubrication compiled a chart from its experts to show what can increase or decrease a lubricants shelf life.

Table Courtesy of Noria Corporation and Machinery Lubrication

 

How can you Reduce Oxidation?

Oxidation occurs when the lubricant comes into contact with air. Certain lubricants are more susceptible to faster oxidation and degradation due to the composition of the lubricant. However, these are known and can be accounted for, whereas human factors are a much greater influence on degradation and chemical stability.

Storage is key to maintain longer shelf-life and higher lubricant performance. Some things that can improve shelf-life include:

  • Storing lubricants in proper ambient temperatures. Cooler temperatures around 68°F are ideal.
  • Storing lubricants in dryer environments. Ambient humidity and moisture increase oxidation and lubricant breakdown.
  • Storing lubricants indoors. Outdoor storage can expose lubricants to more extreme and volatile conditions.
  • Storing lubricants in proper containers. Poor-quality steel containers can expose the oil to iron and fuel oxidation. Plastic or plastic-lined drums are ideal for storage.
  • Reduce agitation of the lubricant. The move the lubricant is agitated or moved, the more surface area of oil is exposed to air and can oxidize.
  • Evaluate usage and purchase lubricants accordingly. This smooths out spending, but also reduces the likelihood of using older products.
  • Practice First-In-First-Out (FIFO) when using lubricants. This prevents lubricants from sitting and aging.
  • Label lubricants, containers, and machines. Knowing when a lubricant was made or put into use allows individuals to be more mindful of when to change lubricants.

How do I Get Informed?

Unfortunately, there is no industry consensus on shelf-life. Following the tips above will extend and maintain shelf-life. Speaking with manufacturers, distributors, and engineers is the best option in getting product-specific shelf-life information. Manufacturers will know exactly what goes into their products and can provide shelf-life information and best practices for storage.

Twin Specialties can provide information about Best Practices for Lubricant Storage and Managing Metalworking Fluids. We work with manufacturers to provide transparency and information about lubricant shelf-life and usage. Contact Twin Specialties for information about lubricants, best practices, and shelf-life.

6 Tips for Disposing of Liquid Waste

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Getting rid of waste, particularly liquid waste, is not at the top of your to-do list.  Understandably, the waste generated by many of the manufacturing and machining processes gets in the way, and can be annoying and costly of which to dispose. Here are some simple best practices that most all generators should follow.

  1.  Become Informed – Learn about the contents and characteristics of your waste stream.  Quite often, the person in charge of waste stream management has not been properly educated or trained about the waste.  It’s not uncommon for many health and safety responsibilities to fall upon a team member that is already deluged with other responsibilities at the facility.  However, not knowing the laws and responsibilities regarding your waste stream has consistently not been an acceptable answer when confronted with the relevant government agencies.  Safe to say, you could be breaking the law and not even know it.  Educate yourself!
  2. Separate Your Waste – When storing liquid waste, be sure to segregate each waste stream.  Quite often the cost of a waste stream is determined by the way the waste has to be treated at a recycling facility.   Safe to say, hazardous waste is usually more costly than non-hazardous waste streams.  If you co-mingle the streams, you risk the possibility of costing yourself more money and potentially creating a substance or material that is much more flammable and combustible.
  3. Take Precautions – When transferring waste, take extra precautions for make sure the transfer is done safely.  This is often when most accidents occur – when moving the waste from a tank to a drum, for example.
  4. Isolate Waste Containers – Obviously, you want to store your waste in a secure, safe area.  Pick a low-traffic area, if possible.
  5. Label, Label, Label – Make sure when you take the time to implement a safe handling of your waste that you properly label all drums, tanks, pallets, etc. The waste hauler and processor will know which waste stream is which. This will allow for a smoother and safer removal and disposal process.
  6. Do not Delay – Dispose of waste in a timely manner.  This action step could certainly be #1 on our list.  Best practices suggest that you not store hazardous and non-hazardous waste at your facility for more than six months.  However, consult your local and state authorities for the specifics of your waste stream.

A great place to start researching is the EPA or DEP. These sites have plenty of information on the latest rules and regulations regarding your waste. If you have any questions, Gemini Disposal Services can help answer questions on your liquid waste streams. If you are looking to dispose of your liquid waste, request a quote and we will help you manage your liquid waste.

How to Dispose of Aerosol Cans

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that the management of hazardous waste aerosol cans can be best implemented through a universal waste approach where handlers operate within a streamlined management system with regulatory oversight. On December 9, 2019, the EPA finalized the rule to add Aerosol Cans to the federal list of Universal Wastes. This final rule will impact the labeling and marking, accumulation time limits, employee training, responses to releases, export requirements, and, for large quantity handlers of universal waste, notification and tracking.

What is the definition of Aerosol Can?

As of February, 2020, the EPA defines an aerosol as a non-refillable receptacle containing a gas compressed, liquefied or dissolved under pressure, the sole purpose of which is to expel a liquid, paste, or powder and fitted with a self-closing release device allowing the contents to be ejected by the gas. Because the DOT language is more inclusive than the proposed language, it better matches the intent of the proposal to apply to all types of aerosol cans, including cans that dispense product in the form of paste or powder, and would not require states that have already added aerosol cans to their universal waste program to change their regulations.

Current Regulations

On March 16, 2018 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed adding aerosol cans to the federal universal waste list. This proposal recognized that the inclusion of this waste stream as a universal waste could better ensure that aerosol cans are managed appropriately from cradle to grave. Aerosol cans are widely used for dispensing a broad range of products including paints, solvents, pesticides, food and personal care products.

The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) estimates that 3.8 billion aerosol cans were filled in the United States in 2015 for use by commercial and industrial facilities along with households. Aerosol cans may be dangerous if mismanaged, particularly when exposed to excessive heat, which may result in increased internal pressure and eventually could cause the container to burst and release its contents. If the propellant or product is ignitable, this could result in a rapidly burning vapor “fireball.” Even if the propellant is not ignitable there are dangers from a bursting aerosol can as parts of the aerosol can could become a projectile. After the proposed rule-making was announced the EPA took public comment on the proposed standards. The docket number for this rule-making is EPA-HQ-QLEM-2017-0463.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added hazardous waste aerosol cans to the universal waste program under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations. The aim of this rule is to benefit the establishments generating and managing hazardous waste aerosol cans. These establishments include retail stores and others that discard hazardous waste aerosol cans. The rule will ease the regulatory burdens on these establishments and promote the collection and recycling of these cans and encourage the development of municipal and commercial programs to reduce the amount of aerosol cans from going to municipal solid waste landfills or combustors. This final ruling will impact the following areas for all handlers: Generator Status Universal Waste Aerosols do not count towards Generator Status.

Guidelines and Best Practices

The final rule requires aerosol cans to be labeled as “Universal Waste—Aerosol Can(s),” “Waste Aerosol Can(s),” or “Used Aerosol Can(s).”

  • The final rule allows for generators to store aerosol cans for up to one-year.
  • Employees must be trained on handling and how to safely puncture and drain universal waste aerosol cans – if applicable to facility.
  • Aerosol cans will now be exported as Universal Waste.
  • Notification and Tracking will only be impacted for large quantity universal waste handlers. Handlers must make a notification before beginning to puncture the aerosol cans.
  • Under the universal waste rule, a handler of universal waste can send the universal waste to another handler, where it can be consolidated into a larger shipment for transport to a destination facility.
  • Universal waste destination facilities are subject to all currently applicable requirements for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) and must receive a RCRA permit for such activities.
  • This will make it more economical to send hazardous waste aerosol cans for recycling for recovery of metal materials. This final action is estimated to result in an annual cost savings of $5.3 million to $47.8 million.
  • The EPA is requiring leaking or damaged aerosol cans that show evidence of leakage to be packaged in a separate closed container, overpacked with absorbents or immediately punctured and drained in accordance with the aerosol can Universal waste requirements.

Gemini Disposal Services can help you disposal of your aerosol cans and/or universal waste in a safe and economic matter. If you need to dispose of your aerosol cans, request a quote and we will work with you to properly manage your universal waste.

Best Practices for Lubricant Storage

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Lubricants are a critical component to any machine, engine, or tool. How you manage and store the lubricants is as important, if not more so than the actual lubricant selection. In controlled situations, higher quality lubricants will consistently outperform their inferior counterparts. This difference is clearly seen in comparisons of oil-based lubricants (Group I-III) and synthetic lubricants (Group IV – V). However, controlled tests are not going be perfectly replicated in the work environment. Proper storage and monitoring can be the difference between high performance and early breakdowns.

The shelf life for lubricants depends on a variety of factors such as: base oil, additives and thickeners. It is often best to consult the manufacturer to determine the shelf life for your lubricants. Regardless of the lubricant’s shelf life, it will never be actualized if it is not stored properly. This leads to many problems on the manufacturing floor that have a major impact on the bottom line. This can lead to increased costs, machine breakdowns and lower-than-expected productivity.

Consistency is Key

What is the key characteristic for storage best practices? Consistency. By having consistent and routine storage practices, you will have the confidence that your lubricants will perform up to manufacturer’s stated standards. A consistent and controlled environment can also help you diagnose and remedy issues that may arise in your lubricant. For example, if your oil analysis shows that there are higher levels of moisture, you can more effectively diagnose the root cause of moisture. In poor conditions, there are many factors that can affect moisture found in oil-based lubricants, but controlled environments eliminate many of these root causes or isolate them to one-off instances (e.g. a loose oil cap, a small leak or the occasional spill).

Creating the Ideal Environment

The best way to ensure an optimal environment is to dedicate a room solely for lubricant storage. The room should be climate controlled thus protecting lubricants from the heat or the cold. As temperatures reach extremes on either end, the lubricant can breakdown and fall short on performance and shelf life. This is especially important with greases where low temperatures can affect additives. Indoor storage also protects lubricants from airborne moisture. Moisture in lubricants reduces reliability and performance and will lead to more machine breakdowns and downtime.

The storage room should be further away from any external entrance such as a shipping and receiving area or an employee exit. Lubricants near these areas are at risk to exposure outdoor weather and particle contamination. Particles in the lubricants must be filtered out or else machinery will experience greater wear and a reduce life expectancy. By storing lubricants away from shipping and receiving areas, this allows facilities to have less congested work areas and allow for efficient movement or parts, supplies, products and people.

What is the ideal environment for storing lubricants? We recommend a cool, dry area that protects the products from moisture and extreme temperatures. This means storing them in a room or floor area that is away from any external windows or doors, in a well ventilated area, and clearly separated from any workstation.

Improving Storage for End-Users

The lubricant storage room should efficiently use space, but also have the capability to expand. It is important to have all lubricants to be easily accessible so you can properly fill up the right amount of lubricant without spilling and potentially contaminating other lubricants. Many machine breakdowns occur when two incompatible lubricants are mixed. This error is preventable and the best way to ensure proper collection is to have clear and visible labels on each container. This includes having manufacturers labels clearly displayed, having color-coded labels to indicate product type, end-use or receiving date.

Another good idea is to organize containers based who uses them at their workstation. If one person uses the majority of a certain lubricant, it is sensible to store that product close to other products he or she may use. This creates an efficient process for people to collect their lubricants and reduces potential confusion and human error.

One of the greatest root causes of lubricant mismanagement and machine breakdown is human error. It happens to all of us. We are not perfect, but it is critical to strive to improve and implements rules and procedures to minimize these errors. Having properly tuned equipment ensures lubricants are properly measured out each time. Another good measure is to limit who has access to the lubricant room and ensure it is locked when not in use. When access is well controlled this reduces spillage, waste and in some cases, theft.

Conclusions

Theses some of the basic measures that can be taken to ensure a stable and consistent environment. We cannot control the weather, but we do have authority on the thermostat. Storing the lubricants in cool, dry area will ensure maximum shelf life. The additive packages will work properly and the performance you seek from a lubricant, will be realized and performance will improve.

Accidents happen and we learn from our mistakes. The most important thing to learn is preventing similar accidents in the future. This may involve changing processes, reworking access, or using different equipment. Making these changes ensure that mistakes are limited. It is important to regularly assess these processes ensure your lubricants are up to specifications and waste or damage is reduced. By following these best practices, your facility will be cleaner, organized and more efficient.