Lube Oil Filtration Systems
Efficient lube oil treatment is required to maintain performance, prolong lube oil life, and reduce machinery wear. Engine lube oil collects contaminants over time, including metal particles, combustion residues (soot from incomplete combustion and silica from dirt/dust), and water. An effective lube oil filtration system aims to reduce operational maintenance costs, prevent equipment failures, and enhance equipment reliability. Choosing the right filtration system is key to optimizing equipment reliability and minimizing downtime. You often need more than one lube oil filtration approach to achieve clean lubricating oil.
While new oil is visually clean and refined, new oil is not necessarily completely contamination-free. New oil can contain particles picked up during manufacturing, storage, or transfer. It is generally advisable to filter new oil before use, especially in applications where high cleanliness levels are required.
The most critical requirements for lubricating oil are friction and wear reduction, cooling, cleaning, sealing, and acid neutralization. The lubricating oil transports heat from the engine and journals to the cooler (cooling). It prevents the agglomeration of contaminants and transports them to the filter and separator for removal and cleaning. The lubricating oil is used for sealing to assist the piston rings in eliminating blow-by. The lubricating oil provides acid-neutralizing protection, preventing corrosion.
Lube Oil filtration systems are designed to remove contaminants and improve performance!
Full-Flow Lube Oil Filtration
Full-flow oil filters are the most common type of filtration, designed to receive and clean all the lube oil before it circulates through the engine components. These filters provide critical engine protection by capturing and retaining harmful contaminants. Depending on the design, the full-flow lube oil filter will offer sufficient dirt-holding capacity to meet required service intervals and feature a bypass valve to ensure consistent lube oil flow if the oil filter becomes clogged.
Top Full-Flow Lube Oil Filtration Brands
Alfa Laval
Alfa Laval is a renowned leader in centrifuge and separation technology, known for delivering innovative, high-performance solutions across a wide range of applications. Alfa Laval Moatti lubricating oil filters provide full-flow filtration of lubricating oils for trunk piston and crosshead engines. The Alfa Laval Moatti 160, 240, 280, and 350 models cover all lubricating oil flows.
The Alfa Laval Moatti Filter is a self-cleaning lube oil filter used in engines that burn several types of fuels.
IOW Group
IOW Group is a global leading manufacturer of centrifugal filters, triple screw pumps, and automatic bashwashing oil filters. The IOW eQlyps automatic backflushing lube oil filter is a complete lube oil filtration solution. Designed as a full-flow lube oil filtration system, it has the IOW Q series backflushing filter (continuously), IOW MP centrifuge filter, and IOW backflushing pump. The eQlyps will permanently remove all contaminant particles above one micron from your lubrication oil. The eQlyps is the most extensive oil-cleaning experience available.
Kaydon Filtration
Kaydon Filtration, a Filtration Group company, is a global leader in oil filtration and conditioning. Kaydon specializes in high-performance liquid and solid separation technology. Kaydon is a designer and manufacturer of high dirt-holding capacity lube oil filtration systems and equipment. They manufacture filter housings, filter cartridges (filter elements), portable filter carts, and complete filtration systems for the marine, power generation, and mining industries.
Kaydon Filtration offers advanced lube oil filtration solutions designed for fluid conditioning, particulate contamination removal, and coalescing filtration. The Kaydon KP Series has an ISO 4406 cleanliness code of 17/15/13.
Centrifugal Filter
A centrifugal filter (secondary oil filter) is a device used on engines and industrial equipment (kidney loop system) to remove solid particle contaminants from oil without the need for replaceable filter elements. Centrifugal filters operate in bypass and process approximately 10% of the lubricating oil before returning it to the engine’s sump. Unlike conventional filters that rely on porous media, centrifugal filters use high-speed rotation (spinner) to separate solid impurities from the oil through centrifugal force (g-force). Centrifugal oil filters efficiently capture fine particles, extending oil life, reducing maintenance costs, and improving engine reliability and performance.
Centrifugal Oil Filters: Cleaner Oil, Longer Oil Life, Lower Oil Costs
Centrifugal filters (offline oil filtration) are commonly used in heavy-duty engines, marine applications, and industrial machinery where oil cleanliness is critical. Their ability to remove microscopic particles, sludge, soot, and other solid contaminants makes them ideal for environments with high contamination levels. By continuously cleaning the oil, these oil centrifuges help maintain optimal lubrication, reduce engine wear, and enhance fuel efficiency. This lowers maintenance costs and minimizes environmental impact by reducing the frequency of oil changes.
Top Centrifugal Oil Filter Brands
IOW Group
IOW Group is a leading manufacturer of centrifugal filters. They are well-known for their high-quality centrifugal filtration products and updated centrifuge filter design. Unlike the Alfa Laval and GEA Westfalia centrifuges, the IOW centrifugal bypass separators are engine oil pressure-driven (or external pump-driven). IOW Group centrifuges utilize bowl disc technology (for better separation efficiency) and remote monitoring (for better control).To learn more about the high performance of the IOW Group lube oil filtration centrifuges, visit the IOW Group centrifugal bypass filter.
Mann Hummel
Mann Hummel (formerly Glacier Centrifuge) manufactures pressure-powered centrifugal oil cleaners. Since Mann Hummel purchased Glacier Centrifuge filter products, there have been no fundamental innovative advances or improvements to the original centrifuge design.
Several firms worldwide have copied the original Glacier centrifuge design, but they all work on the same 1970s principles, and in some cases, spare parts are interchangeable between them.
Spinner II
The Spinner II Products Division is the sole North American importer and distributor of oil cleaning centrifuges made by Glacier Metal Company (now Mann Hummel). Later, Spinner II became a division of T.F. Hudgins, Inc. In 2016, T.F. Hudgins merged with Allied Reliability, Inc. Spinner II oil cleaning centrifuges, produced by Mann Hummel, use centrifugal force to separate contaminants from the oil. Depending on the application, Spinner II provides a cleanable rotor or a single-use disposable rotor.
Better engine lube oil filtration is the answer!
While the centrifugal oil filters may look similar, the IOW Group’s centrifugal oil cleaners technology is patent-protected. Not only is the IOW Group’s offline filtration system technology one of a kind, but the IOW centrifugal oil filters are 150% more efficient than Mann Hummel centrifugal oil cleaners, Glacier centrifuges, Spinner II oil cleaning centrifuges, Mircospin centrifuges, or anything currently on the market.
Leading engine brands trust these centrifugal oil filters, including Caterpillar, INNIO Waukesha, Hyundai HiMSEN, Jenbacher, MAN Energy Solution, Progress Rail EMD, and Perkins Engines. BUT, not all centrifugal filters are created equal. IOW Group has designed, patented, and manufactured the world’s highest-performing and only self-monitoring bypass oil filtration spinner-type separator. For more information, visit What is a Bypass Oil Centrifuge?
High-Speed Centrifugal Separator
A self-cleaning centrifuge is recommended for all applications. When utilizing a self-cleaning separator, we recommend using the purifier configuration (purification). It is common to find the clarifier disc installed in a lube oil separator to avoid a broken water seal. The separator will not remove any water, and the water in the oil will affect the stability of the alkaline additives. Decreasing the TBN value requires frequent oil addition and high consumption, resulting in excessively high lube oil costs.
Solid-bowl separators are suitable for crosshead or trunk engines when using distillate fuels or marine diesel oil (MDO). They are not recommended for cleaning crankcase lubricating oil, serving trunk piston engines, or burning heavy fuel oil. The level of contamination will be higher in these systems, requiring very frequent manual cleaning. A solid-bowl centrifuge can be operated either as a purifier or a clarifier. If operated as a clarifier (clarification), there is still the risk of loss of separation efficiency due to the disc stack being blocked with water. The clarifier type of operation should only be used if the risk of water contamination is deemed negligible.
Top Self-Cleaning Separator Brands
Alfa Laval Separators
Alfa Laval is a renowned leader in centrifuge and separation technology, known for delivering innovative, high-performance solutions across a broad range of applications. To learn more about refurbished Alfa Laval separators, visit our reconditioned Alfa Laval Separators webpage.
GEA Westfalia Separators
GEA Westfalia is a global leader in separation technology. GEA Westfalia self-cleaning separators efficiently treat lube oil, ensuring long-lasting engine protection. As a market leader in separation equipment, GEA Westfalia provides reliable, high-performance solutions.
Learn more about GEA Westfalia OSD 2-02-137, OSE eagleclass, and OSF marine separators.
Separator Spares & Equipment is committed to providing cost-effective lube oil filtration systems that maintain optimal fluid cleanliness levels, ensuring consistent operational efficiency and reducing costs. Lube oil cleanliness and contamination control are an important part of a proactive maintenance strategy. We can assist with lube oil purification products, solutions, and expertise. We offer a broad range of lube oil filtration and separation products for industrial fluids designed to remove particles, water (water removal), varnish contaminants, and other contaminants. Our cost-effective lube oil filtration systems will save on maintenance costs (lowering the total cost of ownership), increase reliability, and reduce energy consumption.
Lube Oil Filtration Systems | Solutions, Service, and Expertise