The British Lubricants Federation Technical Conference
The British Lubricants Federation Technical Conference
Keywords British Lubricants Federation, Conferences, Lubricants,Greases
The British Lubricants Federation (BLF) recently held a technical conference covering current UK environmental and regulatory issues. Although of course aimed at local industry, many of the matters of concern derive from European-wide legislation and may be of interest to those in other parts of the world.
In an effort to reduce land contamination significantly changes to the regulations on storage tank building are to be introduced. These regulations are aimed at the industrial end user and will not apply to farms or homes. Some of the proposals are controversial and a consultation period is in place so that the regulators can hear the views of the oil industry. It is not clear how the average user will be represented as he or she will not be aware either of the proposals or of the consultation process. It is hoped that a sensible practical change to the regulations is achieved. The "Special Waste Regulations"rely on the easy, quick ability to categorise products as covered or not by these regulations. In the case of lubricants there have been some different opinions and the environmental agency is seeking to provide clarification. Similarly the "Packaging Waste Regulations" were covered with special emphasis given to interpretation and practical application.
In Germany it is estimated that 2,000 tonnes of grease are lost to the environment each year mainly as a result of centralised lubrication systems now fitted as standard on many commercial vehicles. Clearly a similar situation exists in other countries and, if the volumes of grease used in rail lubricants and similar railway applications are taken into account, then the worldwide problem is substantial. Much work has been done in the past few years on "environmentally friendly" or biodegradable greases. The difficulty has been measuring the environmental impact of these products. Bearing in mind that a significantly higher price is usually required compared to conventional grease then comparisons between products become very important. The European Lubricating Grease Institute (ELGI) and the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI)have joined forces to establish a practical, reliable test method to help categorise environmentally friendly products which will hopefully help with the expansion of their use.
The status of the BLF's local scheme for product stewardship of metal working fluids was updated.
Finally a lubricants manufacturer described his method of handling current regulations on emissions and control of processes.
Although a very practical conference, the changing regulations and the lubricants industry approach to environmental problems will be echoed in other parts of the world. Your editor and other readers would be interested to hear of similar activities in your area.
