Quaker Chemical reports that Minetech^TM CST 100 exceeds customer expectations. A global leader in process fluids, it recommended Minetech^TM CST 100, a newly developed innovative and effective high-performance gear oil, to improve longwall operations at a customer mining site of Patrot Coal. CST 100 is a fully synthetic, high-performance gear oil engineered for highly loaded gearing as well as plain and rolling element bearings.Patriot Coal, a leading producer and marketer of coal in the eastern USA with 14 mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin, sought to improve running peak performance since a large percentage of its annual coal production comes from their longwall operations. Patriot Coal – Speed Mining sought to accomplish this improvement through the reduction of operating temperatures and clutch pressure by choosing to run the CST drive of the 15 Headgate panel with Quaker Chemical high-performance gear oil. Equally important in the decision to turn to Quaker was, the company says “the on-site service and support promised by Quaker’s experienced technical experts.”

Quaker says Minetech^TM CST 100 “has outstanding oxidation and thermal stability, high viscosity index and excellent low temperature flow characteristics. It also protects against micropitting with a high load carrying capability, resists sludge formation, and provides maximum protection against rust, corrosion and foaming.

Speed Mining evaluated Quaker’s gear oil in the #1 CST drive (P-45) on its 15 Headgate Panel during an evaluation period of 1,492 hours. During the evaluation period, the product outperformed expectations when the CST operating temperature reduced 10°C (from 67°C to 57°C), the clutch pressures improved significantly; and it generated no foaming.

“Overall there were no issues during the evaluation period,” says Glenn Lilly, Longwall Manager at Speed Mining, Patriot Coal. “Since evaluating the product, we continue to run Minetech^TM CST 100 in our #1 CST and are planning on installing it in another one of our CST gearboxes (KP-45).”