PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - OilDry, Voith’s innovative compressed air system. Innovative compressed air barrier system from Voith proactively prevents water intrusion, protecting bearings and extending the service life of lubrication oil. Tamara Lemm, Communications Manager EMEA, Voith Paper - Paper Technology International 2026 - Book - Page 72

PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - OilDry, Voith’s innovative compressed air system. Innovative compressed air barrier system from Voith proactively prevents water intrusion, protecting bearings and extending the service life of lubrication oil. Tamara Lemm, Communications Manager EMEA, Voith Paper

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
The diagram below illustrates the decrease in relative bearing service life as the water content in the lubricant increases, showing
that even small amounts of dissolved water significantly shorten operating life. The transition to the free-water range after
exceeding the saturation limit is particularly critical, as lubricant film formation fails and wear increases exponentially.
A special case: the dryer section with higher dew points
Increasingly, Poinsitt notes, paper mills operate in conditions
of higher humidity. Modern dryer hoods run at higher dew points, for
instance, which is good for energy-ef昀椀ciency, but the higher humidity
in the air is an issue for oil and for bearings. Higher dew points carry
a greater risk of oil absorbing moisture and releasing free water,
which puts bearings at risk.
Mills work hard to keep water out of the lubrication systems.
Most common solutions require vacuum systems to remove
the dissolved water in oil to prevent free water occurring. They
evaporate water out of the oil and then vent the moist air.
“These kinds of systems only treat the symptoms, however,
not the cause,” adds Poinsitt. “We therefore decided to completely
shift away from current practice and focused instead on designing
a solution that would prevent water from entering the system in the
昀椀rst place.”
A unique approach with strikingly dry results
By moving the spotlight to prevention rather than treatment,
Voith designed a streamlined solution that is also easy to retro昀椀t to
existing dryers. “Instead of trying to remove water with a vacuum
system, we decided to use compressed air to keep water out,”
explains Poinsitt.
During a pilot phase in Europe on a paper machine
for packaging paper, with a machine speed of 1,350 m/min, a
rudimentary test rig was set up. The compressed-air system was
installed along the oil return system in the dryer section.
72
“We installed our solution at strategic places along the oil
return system,” explains Poinsitt. “The theory was, this approach
would create overpressure, which would prevent water from entering
the system and being absorbed by the oil.”
Instant proof of concept: a radical drop in water content
Before the Voith system was installed, the water content in
the oil 昀氀uctuated between 25 and 30 percent – and that was only
because an additional oil removal system was running continuously
in the background. Without the oil removal system, at times the
water content had hit 80-85 percent.
“As soon as we turned on our system, the water content
fell sharply. The results were striking. Within just a few hours, it had
dropped signi昀椀cantly,” notes Poinsitt. “It’s the fastest I’ve seen an
innovation prove itself on a full-scale production line.”
Impressively, even when the additional oil removal system
was turned off, the water content stayed at the same low level.
Today, the system continues to run on the paper machine and has
consistently kept the water content at a considerably lower level
since installation.
The trend illustrates how the water content in the central
lubrication system was signi昀椀cantly reduced within just a few
hours after the OilDry was put into operation and has since been
consistently maintained at this low level.

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