ExxonMobil and Energy Consulting Allgäu to advise firms on how to make energy savings with food machinery lubricants

Mobil-branded food machinery lubricants are registered as H1 category lubricants by the NSF International (US-based National Sanitary Foundation). 

SHC Cibus food machinery lubricants

It claims its SHC Cibus food machinery lubricants can reduce energy consumption, with energy savings of up to 3.6% versus conventional oils, based on fluid performance (tested in a worm gearbox under controlled conditions). 

Rainer Lange, Mobil SHC brand advisor, EMEA, ExxonMobil, told FoodProductionDaily it is offering its services as part of the joint initiative now and at Anuga Food Tech in Cologne, Germany as well as starting workshops with clients in April.

“We have been developing lubricants which carry an energy efficiency claim for a long time. It is not only important for the food industry but for other industries as well​,” he said. 

“Our products not only adhere to Government protocol on reducing energy consumption as there are country-wide related initiatives as well. These initiatives are different in each country but they all go a long way in implementing energy management systems​. 

“ExxonMobil is well known for implementing energy management systems and with our lubricants we can help achieve these targets. We see Energy Consulting Allgäu as a natural fit to our services for existing and potentially future customers​.”

Sugar, beverage and ingredients

Lange said it was initially targeting companies in the food industry including sugar, beverage and ingredient manufacturers.

“We are also looking at other sectors aside from food such as packaging manufacturers whose products are in contact with food such as plastic foils, or those in the animal food industry, who have to follow the same health and safety regulations​,” he added.

“The workshops will be promoted at Anuga FoodTech and are available to our partners who sell our products to the food industry. We have about 120 distributors in our European network and we recently attended the Argus European Emissions Markets 2015 conference in Amsterdam.​

“We will be offering customers a plant audit as a first step and providing more information about ISO 50001 targets and demands after that​.”

ISO 50001 standard

Lange said the Mobil SHC Cibus series is formulated for food processors based on certain Government regulations.

In 2015, regulations evolved to support the achievement of ISO 50001 certification. The standard is the International Organization for Standardization’s framework that governs the establishment and implementation of energy management systems.

The ISO 50001 standard specifies requirements in relation to companies’ energy efficiency policies; target-setting; data use for decision-making and measurement of results. It offers guidelines on how to review and continually improve energy management.

“All our products are registered with NSFH1 and follow kosher and halal dietary laws​,” he added.

“There are different types of lubricants either mineral-based ones, oil-based or synthetic. If you look into it in more detail, mineral oils are made up of different types of molecules, and it is for this reason you cannot define or design what you want your lubes to do​.

“For energy savings on food machinery, it is important to create a synthetic lubricant and then design the type of molecules you want to go hand in it, which can define the performance of the product. That’s the main difference between synthetic and mineral-based oils​.

“The synthetic lubricants last longer than mineral oils, so, they don’t only offer better performance to protect against corrosion, but, better equipment protection and extended oil drain intervals​.

“If you don’t have to change the oil every 1,000 hours or so you can extend its lifespan by two or three times more which means you have less waste oil and fewer changes. In this way you save on your resources and have less contact with the machinery.​”

Going forward, Lange said manufacturers will see a higher demand for food; the population will increase, production of food will increase, and there will be more stringent legislation and initiatives about farm to fork, involving the whole food chain, and food safety and traceability will become even more important.

“The food sector, like many other sectors, uses significant amounts of energy and this collaboration enables us to show companies how energy-efficient lubricants coupled with efficient energy management systems can potentially help to lower overall operating costs and meet environmental requirements​,” he added.