Topic:
The Three R’s: A Sustainable Approach to Turbine Lubricant Maintenance
Presenter(s):
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Matthew G. Hobbs is an accomplished young scientist and avid mountaineer who firmly believes that career success is similar to success in the mountains. Both start with a vision which requires planning, training and cooperation amongst teammates to achieve. The ascent then depends upon hard work, route-finding, overcoming obstacles, the ability to manage risk and unfailing dedication to one’s goal. On the summit, the reward for these sacrifices is unparalleled.
Details:
Half-day (4-hour) interactive workshop
Exact time: 8:00AM to 12:00PM
Description:
Sustainability and maintenance go hand-in-hand. By definition, something must be maintained for it to be sustained. To ensure sustainable power generation, effective turbine lubricant maintenance is, therefore, imperative. Despite its recognized importance, existing oil maintenance programs are often reactive instead of proactive in scope. Indeed, most maintenance programs target physical contamination without addressing the underlying chemical causes of costly oil-related failures. This approach, inherently, treats turbine oils as consumables. For power generation to move towards true sustainability, however, lubricants need to be regarded as assets to be proactively cared for rather than reactively replaced.
During the 1980s, early sustainability programs highlighted the value of “The Three Rs” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). A different set of Rs will prove similarly effective with respect to making turbine oil maintenance more sustainable: Rethink; Remove; Restore. By building on these pillars of effective lubricant maintenance, turbine operators can make meaningful contributions towards sustainability in power generation.