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Specialist solvent ready to roll

An upgraded hydrocarbon solvent has been produced to the exacting requirements of customers in the technically demanding aluminium rolling industry. Making it happen required close collaboration between manufacturing, process and technical teams.

As one of only a few producers with the capability to make this type of product we are already looking at opportunities to expand production capacity.

Johan Langbroek, Solvents Technical Manager (left), discusses production issues in the plant control room.

Shell Fenella ALF is a modified ‘short cut’ of a de-aromatised hydrocarbon solvent (HCS) that has been upgraded to meet the specific needs of the aluminium industry. Being short cut means it has a narrow distillation range and technical performance qualities that make it suitable for use in aggressive metal rolling processes.

It is used as a base oil for lubricants, or rolling oils, employed in the production of rolled aluminium products, from sheets for printing plates and car parts to paper-thin foil for food packaging. Sprayed between the roller and sheet through high pressure jets, the rolling oil acts as a coolant, lubricant and transport medium, helping to ensuring reliable production and a perfect surface finish.

Customer requirements for this intensive and demanding industrial operation are very specific. “Typically, we do not tailor the properties of an HCS grade to this extent but in this instance we recognised the importance of the metal rolling market, the scale of the customers involved and the opportunity to upgrade our portfolio,” explains Aysun Akik, HCS Product Manager for Europe, Africa and Middle East. “The aluminium industry represented an opportunity to place one of our products in a growing niche market.”

Solvents Regional Technical Manager, Johan Langbroek, had to translate the customer demands into a workable product specification that the Shell HCS manufacturing facility in the Netherlands could accommodate. “Although we have produced ‘short cuts’ before, we had never done it on this scale and to such a tight specification,” he explains.

“It is a highly refined solvent with a very narrow boiling range, low aromatic content and enhanced viscosity. We had to be sure that we could create the specific fractionation conditions to make this product consistently and reliably within our existing production setup.”

Aysun Akik at the Pernis manufacturing site

Aysun Akik, Hydocarbon Solvents Product Manager, with plant operators at the Pernis manufacturing site.

As part of the development process, potential customers visited the plant and took away samples for technical analysis and further discussion over the final product specification. The result of this development programme, which lasted almost a year, was a full scale trial at a major aluminium customer’s facility in Germany.

The success of this trial led to full technical approval of Shell Fenella ALF in 2010 and the customer subsequently switched over both its facilities in Germany, as well as its plant in Italy, to the new product. Since that breakthrough, business has also been secured with other aluminium customers in Belgium and Poland, as well as with export customers in Thailand and Indonesia, South Africa and the Czech Republic.

“In a relatively short space of time this niche short cut product has become a significant addition to our portfolio and has great growth potential globally,” says Akik. “As one of only a few producers with the capability to make this type of product we are already looking at opportunities to expand our production capacity and widen the customer base.”

This feature was added to the Innovations section in April 2011