Power utilities improve reliability and reduce costs with the Chevron ISOCLEAN® Certified Lubricants Program

Power Plant Power Plant

Power plants can’t afford unplanned downtime or damage to turbines due to lubricant related failures. Operating with a clean turbine oil is critical.

 

Unfortunately, utility operators spend a great deal of money, time and effort to ensure that their turbine oils meet the equipment manufacturers’ stringent ISO Cleanliness code requirements. The good news? Much of that cost and labor could be mitigated with a “start clean, stay clean” approach to oil cleanliness.

 

We have customers in the power generation industry that used to pre-filter their turbine oil as it was being pumped from the delivery truck into their reservoirs – in many cases, they are hiring third-party filtration contractors to filter the oil before and after it went into the reservoir. This can create challenges as many times the customers have no way of confirming the new oils meeting the required cleanliness code until a particle count analysis comes back from a certified lab, well after the oil is already in service.

 

Many of these customers have implemented the Chevron ISOCLEAN® Certified Lubricants program. A Chevron Lubrication Marketer delivers Chevron GST® – ISOCLEAN® Certified turbine oil directly into their reservoirs, already certified to the manufacturers’ ISO cleanliness requirements and requiring no additional filtration. The certification process takes place at the marketer’s facility. Documentation including an ISOCLEAN® Certificate of Analysis is provided with each delivery. The program eliminates the time, expense and safety risk involved in onsite filtration. In fact, one customer with seven turbines expects to save over $2,200 per turbine per year by eliminating filtration equipment and labor. Meanwhile, the maintenance teams are freed from the responsibility of pre-filtering new turbine oil and can focus on maintaining systems.

 

 

That’s the “start clean” part of the program. To “stay clean,” power plant customers are implementing best practices for product handling in the plant, which include regular monitoring of oil in service, which includes action plans to maintain clean systems.

 

The Chevron ISOCLEAN Certified Lubricants program represents a more efficient and more economical approach to meeting ISO Cleanliness code requirements. More importantly, it gives utility operators greater assurance of reliable turbine performance, maximum uptime, and extended equipment life expectancy. Read our customers’ stories to learn how they are cutting costs and improving efficiency with ISOCLEAN Certified Lubricants.

05/05/2017

Jason Gerig
Jason career spans over 25 years in the lubricants and fuels business. Before joining Chevron in 2000 he spent 5 years with a lubricants and fuels distributor along with time on the equipment management team of a large construction company. At Chevron he is responsible for the Customer Experience in the Americas Commercial On and Off Highway Sector. His experience in the lubricants and fuel industry includes various positions in operations management, marketing, and sales with his primary passion focused on equipment reliability utilizing industry leading lubricants and services. He holds a B.S. degree in Business Marketing from the University of Wyoming and has been recognized by the Society of Tribologists and Lubricant Engineers as a Certified Lubricant Specialist and Oil Monitoring Analyst.

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