August 17, 2016 – Castrol, the leading global lubricants manufacturer, has reinvented cutting fluids with the launch of Castrol Alusol SL 51 XBB.

Created to support the manufacturing of metal components, Castrol’s pioneering cutting fluid technology maintains constant pH levels (9-9.5) and stable conditions for longer than other standard cutting fluids. This reduces the need to add expensive treatment additives and biocides, as well as safeguarding against costly uncontrolled system changes. Castrol’s Alusol XBB products do not rely on the use of boron or formaldehyde releasing agents or additional biocide and fungicide additive packs, but are still able to meet and exceed the lifetime expectations of the benchmark technology to date. In many cases, customers have been able to significantly reduce or completely eliminate the use of biocides from their management processes.

Cutting fluids perform an essential role in the manufacturing of many types of metal components. One of the main drawbacks of the traditional technology is that, over time, the fluid can suffer from bacterial growth and contamination resulting in the fluid ‘going off’. This leads to pH depletion, unpleasant odours, unstable emulsion and poor performance. From a breakthrough achieved by Castrol’s liquid engineering, these new Alusol XBB products redefine the properties of cutting fluids – they are resistant to acid attack from bacteria, proven to maintain pH at a constant level and are therefore inherently more resistant to bacterial growth.

Pawan Sabharwal, Vice President – Industrial & Heavy Duty, Castrol India said, “Our liquid engineers have reinvented the fundamentals of cutting fluid technology. By having greater control of the pH, the reliance upon short-lived biocides to control bacteria is significantly reduced or eliminated. This ultimately translates into significant improvements for controlling manufacturing costs, increasing productivity, protecting the quality of end products and meeting HSSE requirements.”

As the lifetime of the cutting fluid is increased, costs associated with disposal of spent fluid are reduced and system stability minimises the requirement for costly maintenance regimes. Even at low concentrations, Castrol Alusol XBB products maintain machining performance and can help to protect against corrosion and staining. The excellent lubricating properties help prevent swarf build up, assuring high quality surface finish and low scrappage rates.

Castrol Alusol SL 51 XBB improves precision performance in aluminium machining. It neutralises up to 33% more acidic material than standard aluminium cutting fluids and reduces overall fluid top-up volumes by up to 30% while ensuring maximum cutting precision. These products re-optimise the fluid in use and significantly reduce or can eliminate the need for biocide additives.

Castrol’s new cutting fluid technology also underpins products that positively impact an organisation’s HSE profile by significantly improving the factory environment and working conditions. By maintaining system stability, the unpleasant odours produced by an emulsion that is suffering from a large population of bacteria are minimised and the reduced need for testing pH levels reduces potential skin complaints for workers. Furthermore, the reduced need for biocide additives minimises the need for workers to handle dangerous chemicals.