KleenOil India Improve Pump Life with Eclipse Magnetics’ Filtramag+

Working for its client within the steel industry, KleenOil India has helped significantly improve the product quality of cold rolling sheets by installing a FiltraMag+ 2.0 from Eclipse Magnetics within its annealing process.

Previously using a traditional magnetic roller separator to protect its electrolytic cleaning line (ECL) from ferrous contamination. But with a magnetic performance of just 6000 gauss, the company soon noticed that the collection performance was inadequate and significant problems were occurring with the quality of its finished products.

An ECL line is used within the steel industry to help clean and strip the surface of the steel sheet of rolling dust by using an alkaline solution. The material passes between electrodes, immersed in tanks containing the electrolyte. Whilst this technique is more effective in cleaning cold rolled steel than conventional cleaning processes, the instability of the chemicals can and do cause problems.

Whilst a magnetic roll separator can offer a level of protection within these circumstances, the effectivity can be significantly reduced, leading to contamination removal being somewhere between the 30-40% mark. Despite the magnetic roller being installed, the alkaline solution, in this case, was still heavily saturated with dust particles and was suffering from an unstable PH level that combined were leading to significant rusting during the process resulting in scratching of the final product.

Effective filtration of the alkaline solution is paramount to ensure optimal efficiency of the ECL and simply having any magnetic filter or separator is not guaranteed to solve the ferrous contamination problem. The efficiency of the filtration depends on the magnetic material type, size of the magnet, magnetic strength and also the fluid flow dynamics. A low strength magnet or minimal exposure to the fluid will not perform to the required levels. In this case, 400mg/m2 of contaminant was remaining in the fluid after passing through the magnetic roller.              

Not only will using the correct product for the process in question, the higher level of protection of the solution also provides additional benefits, including prolonging the lifespan of the pump as well as a reduction in associated costs related to maintenance and wastage.

Passing 500 litres per minute, with over 10,000 litres of fluid used in a by-pass manner, the Filtramag+, located on the return line, reduced contamination in this application within the alkaline solution from 400mg/m2 to just 30mg/m2 by removing the fine dust particles that were causing problems.

Ankrish Kapur, Director of Sales and Strategy at KleenOil India explained: “The magnetic roller was not offering enough protection to the fluid in this application, and it highlights the importance of choosing the correct method of magnetic protection. Due to the fine particles circulating within the alkaline solution, significant rusting was being created during the ECL process that was being causing damage to the steel sheet. We recommended Filtramag+, a highly effective magnetic filtration system, to our client as its ability to remove even the finest particles from fluids would significantly improve the issues that the business was facing. By installing the Filtramag+, our client was instantly offered higher levels of protection against the damage that were being caused by the contaminated solution. We work regularly with Eclipse Magnetics high-performance products and always see significant, positive results soon after installation of the filter.”

The Filtramag+ magnetic filter from Eclipse Magnetics offers high-intensity 11,000 Gauss, patented Neodymium magnetic circuits, making it particularly effective for use with materials that have lower magnetic permeability such as cast iron and tungsten carbide.

Providing significant cost, quality and environmental benefits over traditional media-based filters, the Filtramag+ is ideal for harsh chemical wash systems, with its dual-flow technology ensuring that extraction rates are maximised as ferrous particles are exposed to the magnets twice on a single pass through the filter.

As a result of the installation, the company is no longer suffering from damaged finished components, reducing scrappage and waste, as well as prolonging the life of the pump.