Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1289708
34 | September - October 2020 | www . machinerylubrication.com W he n c omp a r i n g mu lt ipl e a s s or t e d products these days y o u m i g ht r e a d about the different ways in which they might affect the environ- ment. Many companies are even highlighting through their adver- tisements that their products are "green" or eco-friendly. Terms such as biodegradability, Environ- mentally Acceptable Lubricants (EAL), or Environmentally Friendly Lubricants (EFL) might be used to describe a lubricant's effect on the environment. When reading about terms like these you might wonder; are they all referring to the same thing or do they each have their own meaning? Put plainly, they are distinct, and each term has a specific definition. To get a better perspective on the meaning of the above-mentioned terms, we will examine the standards that must be met for lubricants used over water. Since extreme care must be taken when using lubricants over water, this is a good place to start. Vessel General Permit The Vessel General Permit (VGP) is a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that authorizes, on a nationwide basis, discharges inci- dental to the normal operation of non-military and non-recreational vessels greater than or equal to 79 feet in length. is permit covers 26 distinct types of discharges that could potentially pose a threat to the aquatic ecosystem. e VGP includes a set criterion that lubri- cants must meet to help reduce this threat. I don't want to get too far into the weeds on this permit, but it does go into detail about describing the above-mentioned terms and how they relate to lubricants. Environmentally Acceptable lubricants In the VGP, EALs are described as lubricants that have been shown to meet standards for biodegradability, toxicit y, a nd bioaccumulation potential that minimize the adverse consequences they are likely to have on the aquatic environment compared to normal lubricants. While EFLs are often defined as lubricants that may be expected to have desirable environmental qual- ities, they have not been proven to meet these standards. In short, EALs are lubricants that have passed the test to establish that they meet Lubricant Environmental Compliance Put plainly, they are distinct, and each term has a specific definition." " O il Was te BACK PAGE BASICS Travis Richardson | Noria Corporation