FOOd & BeveRAge
The grease used is frequently expelled past the seals of the bearings, for instance, and at the next washdown, it is spread to the floor and, ultimately, into the wastewater stream. The dry hand-cleaning of bearings, meanwhile,
can generate grease-contaminated materials, such as gloves, cloths and paper towels—all of which require incineration. One sustainability manager in a food plant told SKF that they are sending 570 kg of such grease-absorbent rags to be incinerated each year - generating significant carbon dioxide emissions and having a big impact on costs. Further, maintenance personnel can miss
lubrication points or the pipes within an automatic lubrication system might become clogged; relatively common occurrences that can cause production to grind to a halt. The resulting unplanned downtime and wastage can increase the environmental impact of a plant and can tank its bottom line.
The imporTance of hygienic design
Purchasing stainless steel machines labelled “food grade” or installing workarounds, such as spacer-mounted bearing units, will not necessarily ensure the efficiency, safety and cleanliness of operations. Organisations must determine the impact of every action they take around the production zone on their environmental, food-safety and production efforts - and extend hygienic-design thinking to every component therein. Responding to these needs, SKF has developed
its Food Line ball bearing units (the Blue Range), which feature smooth, inert surfaces, self- draining geometries and secure seals. These features ensure that microbes cannot
penetrate the bearing, while lubricant cannot escape. This means that, in comparison with conventional bearing units, the amount of hot water required to clean them can be cut by 33 per cent—reducing wastewater production and energy consumption.
The bearings do not require re-lubrication—
slashing the amount of grease that finds its way into wastewater and eliminating the need to dispose of grease-soaked gloves, cloths and paper towels. The high reliability of the bearings reduces
incidents of unplanned downtime – and the associated wastage of products – and the number of times they will need to be replaced, limiting their environmental impact in comparison with conventional alternatives. They also feature a non- contacting lip-seal that, when compared with the two or three seals fitted to conventional bearings in an attempt to prevent the ingress of contaminants, lowers the amount of energy needed to operate them. Further, when they are eventually replaced, the
bearings do not need to be sent to landfill. Their housings are moulded from polypropylene (PP), a highly inert material with high chemical resistance. The thermoplastic is reinforced with long glass fibres to impart strength and toughness, and the housing is co-injected with the
rubber seal, which creates a barrier at the interface between it and the frame. Over half of these materials (58 per cent) can be recycled, while energy can be recovered from the balance.
incremenTal gains
When viewed in isolation, in the context of a full- scale food or beverage manufacturing facility, these benefits might appear relatively small, but when viewed together over days, weeks, months and years of operation, the contribution of these bearings to reducing the environmental impact of such an operation could be significant. Indeed, it will be these kinds of incremental gains that will be vital if the food and beverage industry is to keep hitting increasingly stringent targets regarding sustainability. At the same time, such innovations will enable those operating in the sector to meet critical food safety goals, increase the availability of their assets and reduce costs.
sKf
www.skf.com/uk
FAcTORy&hAndLIngSOLuTIOnS | SePTemBeR 2021 47
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