Sugar mill operations present some of the toughest conditions for equipment longevity – with dust, moisture and fine particles putting constant pressure on filters and lubrication systems. With support from Fleetguard and Motion, operators are now turning to smarter, longer-lasting filtration solutions to stay ahead of breakdowns and reduce unplanned downtime.
Sugar mills operate under tough conditions – and for filters, it’s a constant battle against dust, moisture, and high-velocity particles.
Fleetguard design, manufacture and sell filtration solutions to address these challenges, always working to create a better future by protecting what’s important.
“If we focus on gearboxes and any other lubrication reservoirs apart from small dust and debris, the biggest issues are the presence of moisture and the abrasiveness of any fine sugar particles,” Fleetguard technical and training specialist – South Pacific, Matt Gillard, said.
According to Gillard, many components at sugar mills – especially gearboxes – are pushed hard during production.
“Gearboxes and other components at sugar mills are often put into or near overload conditions, generating heat that breaks down the lubrication oils, and often see higher than normal vibration,” he said.
“Proper sealing and routine maintenance is critical. While in the case of gearboxes, they are often not actively filtered and rely on being well sealed.”
In larger systems, dedicated setups can deliver better results.
“Larger systems can benefit from dedicated filtration systems, vibration proof breathers, and/or maintenance with the support of a kidney loop setup,” Gillard said.
Air filtration is no easier.
“While we do not offer baghouse or shaker bags, the primary issue will be sugar particles impacting the filters throughout the processes with velocity,” Gillard said. “These particles are abrasive and will wear filter media down in the impact zone of high velocity particles at point of collection or filtration.”
And when filters are offline or not pulse-cleaned, the issue compounds.
“The particles once collected on non-pulse cleaned filters, or overnight on an offline system, may turn themselves into agglomerations rather than remaining as hard particles,” Gillard said. “This causes shorter life by blinding off large areas of filter media surface and depth layers of filtration media.”
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