LUBRINTEL

ABSTRACT

The global market demand for lubricants is estimated at 38 million tons, of which 50% end up outside the industrial circuit and end up in the environment, either because their use is at a total loss (chainsaw oils, track lubricants, train wiring, among others) or because accidental loss ends up in soils and waters (motors, reducers, transformers, etc.). To all this, we must add, in addition, the not always adequate management of industrial waste.

As a sign of the importance of lubricants in the global economy, it is worth mentioning that 23% (119 EJ) of global energy consumption is intimately linked to lubrication (whose role is to fight against friction and wear on moving parts (transport) or the metallurgical transformation itself)). For all these reasons, any improvement in efficiency or respect for the environment that is implemented in its value chain has a high impact at global levels from the point of view of energy efficiency, environmental remediation and with great economic consequences.

The LUBRINTEL project includes the multidisciplinary aim of responding to the need to obtain efficient and innovative solutions at different key stages in the lubrication value chain identified by this consortium. Thus, it has as a reference the following central axes where it will work iteratively between the different actors in parallel and which are: the effectiveness of lubricants, predictive detection, safety and improvement of the environmental (environmental and toxicological) profile of the products.

The main objective of the LUBRINTEL project is to research and develop a new generation of lubricating products, for machining applications of new titanium alloys, stamping on steel and aluminum and die-cast aluminum, encompassing both efficacy and advanced safety features for people and environment, as new functionalities adapted to respond to the challenges posed by industry 4.0.

The companies in the consortium form a multidisciplinary conglomerate that will allow them to work in an iterative and complementary way in various aspects to respond to the challenges of lubrication in the future and in the different stages of the value chain:

• Research and development of ingredients and encapsulation systems and intelligent activation of those ingredients that need to be incorporated into the lubricant, so that their functionality is isolated / restricted until their activation (as biocides that are intelligently and not always released are in the middle and can be broadcast to the medium without need)
  
• Creation of efficient and balanced lubricants in the value chain, with advanced and environmentally sustainable properties.
  
• Research in information systems and action / remediation for the development of predictive maintenance of lubricants.

The LUBRINTEL consortium is made up of 8 companies (BRUGAROLAS, IQL, CARINSA, PICKDATA, AEROTECNIC, SEVILLA CONTROL, NISSAN and ESTAMP), 5 of them SMEs (CARINSA, PICKDATA, AEROTECNIC, SEVILLA CONTROL and ESTAMP) in collaboration with 4 research organizations subcontracted (LEITAT, EURECAT, TEKNIKER and CSIC). The LUBRINTEL project will start on October 1, 2019 and end on September 30, 2023 (4 years in duration). The global budget is € 6,573,245 with subcontracts to research organizations for an amount of € 1,087,168, representing 16.54% of the budget.