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Sustainability at the core

It's happened to most of us: we see a tempting bargain with a price that seems too good to be true and we jump at it. In retrospect, the first gut feeling is often confirmed and the supposedly cheap offer turns out to be a bad buy. The old saying "If you buy cheap, you buy twice" is no coincidence. Choosing the cheapest offer is not only economically mostly senseless, but above all ecologically a fatal mistake.

A combination of in-depth metallurgical expertise and knowledge of production processes enables us at Deloro to manufacture components from high-performance alloys of the highest quality. Through application-specific solutions, we support our customers in operating efficient and durable plants. In doing so, we focus on various aspects that contribute to reducing global CO2 emissions.

Increasing product longevity

Our core competence is the development and supply of solutions that significantly extend the service life of components. We start by identifying and thoroughly analyzing the problem regarding high-temperature wear and/or corrosion, as well as the given operating environments. Coupled with our comprehensive understanding of wear mechanisms and materials, we derive a target-oriented design of the components, the ideal alloy and the most suitable manufacturing process. With this approach, we have already been able to significantly increase the service life of components for a variety of different applications:

As a result, they need to be replaced or disposed of less frequently, which helps to reduce resource consumption and thus the ecological footprint.

Increasing the longevity of products is an essential part of a sustainable economy and society, as it conserves resources and reduces environmental impact.

Optimizing friction properties

23% of the world's total energy consumption comes from tribological contacts. Of this, 20% is used to overcome friction and 3% is used to recondition worn parts. By using optimized surface, material and lubrication technology to reduce friction and protect against wear in vehicles, machines and other equipment, energy losses due to friction and wear can be reduced by 40% in the long term (Ref. 1).

When optimizing friction properties, the alloy and manufacturing process of the friction partners are matched to each other, taking into account the application and environmental conditions. Thanks to a broad alloy portfolio and a wide range of manufacturing options, the right tribological system can be identified for virtually any application, enabling extremely low coefficients of friction in the order of 0.10 to 0.15 to be achieved.

Significant energy savings can be realized by reducing friction. This also enables the use of reduced power in drive technologies, thus lowering both acquisition and operating costs.

Repair instead of new part

Until a few years ago, a certain "throwaway" mentality prevailed not only in private households but also in industry. In the meantime, a change of mindset has taken place in recent years - driven by the idea of sustainability, but also by supply bottlenecks in the procurement of spare parts: Many companies are striving to repair components instead of procuring new parts. Laser or plasma powder cladding are particularly suitable for reconditioning worn components. Corrective grinding of worn bushings or cylinders can also further extend the life cycle of these components. For worn series components, we have established a "shuttle service" in which components are picked up, reconditioned and made available to customers again for production within a very short time. For customers, this reduces dependence on spare parts availability, and the environment benefits from lower resource consumption. The maintenance business now accounts for about 30% in the in the Energy & Environment business unit, which is one of the strongest in terms of sales at Deloro Wear Solutions GmbH.

Recycling of raw materials

In addition to repairing components for our customers, we pay great attention to reuse and recycling, especially in internal processes. The so-called circular economy conserves the consumption of natural resources, reduces the destruction of landscapes and habitats, and helps limit the loss of biodiversity. Another benefit is a reduction in total annual greenhouse gas emissions. According to the European Environment Agency, industrial processes and product use are responsible for 9.1% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU (Ref. 2).  For castings, Deloro now uses 50%-70% recycled material and aims to further increase this percentage. For internal scrap, a rate of 100% reuse is already achieved. We offer our customers the repurchase of scrap as standard, so that the return of valuable raw materials to the production cycle can be guaranteed.

Enabling sustainable technologies

Many technologies could not even be operated in a value-adding manner without the use of wear- and corrosion-resistant materials.

Our solutions for turbines in hydropower plants, which are exposed to high stresses from erosion, hydroabrasion and cavitation, have long since established themselves as standard. Our coatings for valves used in climate-neutral nuclear reactors have also established themselves on the market thanks to their high quality standards, which ensure safety and reliability.

Components from Deloro also help engines for stationary applications, ships and commercial vehicles meet the stringent emissions standards and lower consumption requirements to which the industry is committed.

Power generation and mobility are among Deloro's key business units. Companies in these segments are particularly challenged in the development and implementation of greenhouse gas neutral technologies.

In terms of materials, the challenges posed by modern technologies are manifold: high ambient temperatures in the valve area of hydrogen engines, lack of mineral oil-based lubrication, corrosive biogas, use of ammonia and methanol in the maritime sector, use of liquid salt as thermal energy storage, scaling battery production for electromobility, and many more. We are breaking new ground and supporting our customers in mastering these challenges by developing suitable material and tribosystems for these applications.

Sustainability is thus anchored in our DNA. On the one hand, through wear and corrosion resistance that significantly exceeds the service life of many other materials and friction properties that minimize energy losses. On the other hand, through constant striving for efficient use of resources, whether by reconditioning worn components or recycling valuable materials in internal processes. Finally, our alloys are an enabler for various sustainable technologies, e.g. hydrogen applications and many more.

Would you like to know how our components can help you reduce your company's environmental footprint? Then contact us via the following contact form!

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References

1. Holmber, K.; Erdemir, A. (2017) Influence of Tribology on global energy consumption, costs and emissions

2. European Parliament (2015) Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits