Sustainable lubrication of rock drilling

Purpose and goal

To take the first steps towards fossil-free and green lubrication for the mining industry, Testing the possibility of using glycerol based, fossil-free, and environmentally friendly lubricants to replace mineral based lubricants for drilling head lubrication,

Expected results and effects

(1) New formulated lubricants for rock-drilling are ready for testing at Epiroc. (2) A good evaluation of the possibility of using glycerol based lubricants for rock drilling in the field.

Planned approach and implementation

WP 1, Project coordination, (2020.03.01 to 2020.08.31): Communicating and discussing with all other partners. WP 2, LTU lab study (2020.03.01 to 2020.05.31): Testing the basic lubrication, rheological and thermal properties of glycerol based lubricants. WP 3, Epiroc bench scale study (2020.05.01 to 2020.08.31): Testing the overall performance of the lubricants in a full scale drilling machine in the lab of Epiroc, Örebro.

More information

Presentation slides from Swedish Mining Innovation Program day 2020