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NE W S • BRIEFIN G • N EW P RODU CTS • T EC H NOLO GY
Wearcheck boosts lab capacity
with new equipment
W
earCheck has announced
an upgrade of its
laboratory equipment,
in an investment aimed
at adopting advanced technologies to ensure
continued accuracy and reliability of sample
analyses results and diagnoses.
The more than two million Rand equipment
update includes a new Gas Chromatograph
(GC), a new Inductively Coupled Plasma
spectrometer (ICP) and a new High
Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC),
according to a statement released by the
organisation in April.
“While the company has already invested
extensively in GC, ICP and HPLC technology
over many years – the laboratory capacity has
been significantly boosted with the addition of
the latest testing equipment’, the statement reads,
adding that the new laboratory equipment will
benefit customers across all industries, and
particularly transformer analysis.
WearCheck provides analysis services to a
wide range of sectors, including earthmoving,
industrial, transport, shipping, aircraft and
electrical industries by scientifically analysing
used oil from mechanical and electrical systems.
Additional services include the analysis of fuels,
transformer oils, coolants, greases and filters.
The firm’s expansive network now includes
ten WearCheck laboratories spanning the
continent and beyond, including Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga Province, and
international laboratories in India, Dubai,
Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia - at Lumwana
mine and Kitwe - with a presence in Cape
Town, Rustenburg, Steelpoort, Port Elizabeth,
Zimbabwe and Namibia.
8
ICP spectrometry analysis provides
high-speed detection and identification of
trace elements at very low concentrations
in oil to determine the levels of wear metals,
contaminants and oil additives in lubricating
oils. This technology has been installed in
WearCheck’s Middelburg laboratory, according
to the press release.
On the other hand, HPLC separates
compounds within a transformer oil sample,
revealing the presence and quantity of trace
degradation products, which in turn provides
information on the operation of the transformer
and whether there has been any breakdown of
insulating material.
The GC separates and analyses compounds
that can be vaporised without decomposition,
revealing critical information about the
presence of contaminants via the composition
of the oil sample. According to Wearcheck, the
new GC and the HPLC are in operation in their
speciality laboratory (WSL) in Johannesburg,
and have enabled more samples to be processed
in a faster turnaround time.
The concept of analysing oil samples
from a machine or component, according to
Wearcheck’s Managing Director Neil Robinson,
is similar to that of taking a blood sample from a
person - the results determine the health status
of the unit.
‘WearCheck’s highly-skilled diagnostic team
then analyses the results and recommends how
to rectify any abnormal findings,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Wearcheck has reiterated its
commitment to provividing quality services,
noting that all their laboratories are now
largely automated and integrated with the latest
technology. ■
Gulf Petrochem
plans expansion in
East Africa
O
il product trader Gulf Petrochem
plans to focus on East Africa for
growth and is increasing its
storage capacity in the region
to take advantage of double-digit growth
for some products, executive director S
Thangapandian said in an interview with
news agency Reuters. .
Gulf Petrochem, whose main trading
activities are in fuel oil and bunkering, started
talks about three months ago to take up
storage capacity in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania
and Mombasa in Kenya, Thangapandian said
in an interview.
A deal to lease storage of about 100,000
cubic metres to store mainly gasoil and petrol
in East Africa is expected to be finalised by
December, while the company also plans to
tap the bunker fuel and liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) sectors.
“Next decade belongs to Africa because
that’s the market which is short. Tremendous
opportunities are available there and assets
are available at cheap rates ... things are
slowly stabilising there,” Thangapandian
said in an interview during the Asia Pacific
Petroleum Conference in Singapore.
African demand for gasoil and petrol is
increasing at seven to eight per cent, while
LPG demand is rising in double digits, he said.
Gulf Petrochem has already applied for
licenses in Kenya and Tanzania to market
LPG, used mainly for cooking, while taking
baby steps to increase the number of its fuel
stations to eight from the current three.
In addition to expansion plans in East
Africa, Gulf Petrochem is also planning to
enhance its presence in the Middle East by
investing US$60mn in storage facilities at
Fujairah. Part of the capacity would be ready
by December 2016, with the remainder
completed by March 2017, Thangapandian
added. ■
September 2015 • | Lubezine Magazine