What you need to know about foodgrade compressor oil

When choosing a food-grade compressor oil keep these characteristics in mind:

• Basefluid

The base fluid is the main lubricant that the oil is made up of. It determines most of the other properties of the oil such as as the lubricity, viscosity, pour point and flash point.

• Additives
  

The additives in the oil enhance the basefluid’s properties while offering additional properties that prevent corrosion and rusting, reduce friction, inhibit the growth of microorganisms, assist with heat dissipation and protect the oil from degrading through exposure to food ingredients and chemicals.

• Viscosity

The viscosity of the oil is ISO VG 46 for the Food grade oil, which is good for higher temperatures. An ISO VG 32 oil is more suitable for cooler operating temperatures.

• Operating temperature
  

The operating temperature range lets you know if your compressor oil is suitable for your working environment, which includes the heat produced within the compressor itself.

• Synthetic or mineral based

Mineral based oils are cheaper than synthetic blends and are best suited for air compressors that operate on shorter duty cycles. Synthetic blends offer benefits for air compressors that operate on longer duty cycles. Synthetic oils are designed to minimize heat and can operate at wider temperature ranges.

Approximately 75% of the average diet consists of processed foods. The equipment that processes food needs to be lubricated for safety, protection and optimized performance. But this creates opportunities for the lubricant to become part of the food itself.  And since processed food travels across borders global standards are essential.

Since 1999 The National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) has managed a registration process for non-food compounds used in food processing. The NSF essentially handles risk management for food product manufacturers, processors and regulators. Food-grade lubricant brands gain credibility by getting the NSF stamp of approval.

An ISO standard (ISO 21469) is also being developed for lubricants, but there is debate about the value of imposing another standard that appears to only add cost.

There are 3 classifications of lubricants that can be used in the food industry. Note that you can find all 3 being used within the industry but only one of them can come into contact with the food. They are:

H3 lubricants – Water soluble lubricants used on machine parts that are required to be cleaned prior to food contact. These are used for cleaning and preventing rust.

H2 lubricants – A lubricant that should only be used on equipment locations where there is no possibility of it coming in contact with the food or beverage being processed. Most industrial grade lubricants are in this category.

H1 lubricants – A true food grade lubricant. If any incidental contact with the end product occurs the product remains safe from contamination. The lubricant is Halal and Kosher.

We offer two food-grade oils that are classified H1, registered with the NSF, and comply with most important international manufacturing requirements.

The Roto Synthetic Fluid Foodgrade is specifically designed for use in oil injected screw compressors. It is formulated to respond to specific food & beverage as well as pharmaceutical operating conditions. And it optimizes the overall performance, maintenance profile and operating cost of the compressor.

The Roto Z Food Grade is a semi-synthetic high-quality lubricant, tailored to the specific requirements of the Atlas Copco oil free air compressors. Our oil free air compressor technology provides you class 0 (ISO 8573-1) compressed air quality and guarantees 0 contamination of your final products at all times.