Asia has the fastest growing industrial lubricants market in the world. The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) predicts growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% by 2027. If growth continues at this rate then members of ASEAN are expected to produce 3,500,000 metric tons of industrial lubricants by 2027.
After 2027, ASEAN predicts that growth will slow to a CAGR of 1.5% by 2032, resulting in members producing nearly 4,000,000 metric tons.
With Asia being the current fastest growing market in the industry, it is no surprise that the second and third highest consumers of lubricants are China and India (with the largest consumer being the United States).
Click here to download your free guide on pigging in the lubricants industry!
GROWTH IN ASIA
Some of this growth can be attributed to the Asian nations that are heavily investing in sectors that require the use of industrial lubricants, such as transportation, energy, and infrastructure development.
China is investing trillions of yuan into development and Indonesia is set to spend US $412 billion on the mining industry, textile industry, and infrastructure development.
Industrial lubricants are used in a wide range of industries and are key to the smooth running of machinery. Investments in sectors such as infrastructure will have a knock-on effect for the industrial lubricants industry. If demand soars too high for Asian lubricant manufacturers to fulfil supply, it may result in increased imports from other regions, such as Europe.
With such large-scale investments happening, it will be important for lubricants manufacturers to produce as much product as they can to keep up with demand. Liquid product recovery, also known as ‘pigging’, is an efficient and effective way of saving liquid product and increasing yield (here’s more information on what is pigging).
HOW PIGGING WILL HELP YOU
Pigging systems for lubricants are a commonly used process that works by propelling a projectile (the ‘pig’) through a pipeline. The pig then pushes the liquid product through the pipeline to its next destination.
HPS pipeline pigs are high performing: they are quick, capable of withstanding high temperatures, and recover up to 99.5% of liquid product from full pipelines.
By pushing the pig through the pipeline, the excess liquid product left in the line at the end of a run can be pumped out and sent on for further processing or packaging.
Recovering any product left in the line at the end of a run is ideal for several reasons:
- It decreases waste. By pigging and recovering the product, there will be less product contaminated with detergents and chemicals and rendered unusable. This means that there is less effluent to send off for treatment and disposal.
- Yields increase. Pigging significantly increases yields. Our pigging system savings calculator will be able to give you an accurate estimate of how much product you are likely to recover by pigging. Our calculator will ask for details such as pipe specifications, product properties, and product costs. Using this information, it will give you estimates on money that could be saved as well as product quantities.
- Capacity increases. To keep up with demand manufacturers may look at adding new pipelines to their premises, which can take up a significant amount of space. Because pigging recovers nearly all the product there is less need for dedicated lines, allowing manufacturers to make better use of their lines and produce more product.
- Speeds up changeovers and CIP procedures. HPS fully automated pigging systems typically remove most of the product from the pipeline. It’s also a quicker process than traditional changeover methods, such as flushing detergents and chemicals through the line. By removing the bulk of the product from the line through pigging, manufacturers will be able to clean the lines using less chemicals at a quicker speed.
WHY PIGGING IS USEFUL FOR YOUR COMPANY
Preparing for a predicted surge in demand can be difficult. There are events that can cause predicted trends to never materialise. We all remember how COVID-19 shut down the world in a matter of days.
However, just because a surge may or may not happen doesn’t mean that pigging won’t benefit you. Increasing capacity and yields is beneficial to companies all the time. It saves product, it decreases waste, improves efficiency and it creates profit.
Not only does it help companies financially, but pipeline product recovery enables companies to work towards sustainable manufacturing goals. Carbon footprints are reduced and there is less effluent that will end up polluting the earth.
Download Our Carbon-Zero Report
FIND OUT MORE
Pigging delivers a wide range of tangible benefits. In addition, the pigging and product recovery system payback and ROI is nearly always significant.
If you want to find out more about how pigging will benefit your company, contact HPS, the process system experts, today. We’ll help you discover how you can increase your yields, capacity, and profit sustainably.