Treatment of water soluble cutting fluids using Membrane Filtration

Abstract

Metal cutting generates heat due to friction and energy lost deforming the material. The surrounding air has low thermal conductivity (conducts heat poorly) meaning it is a poor coolant. Ambient air cooling is sometimes adequate for light cuts and low duty cycles typical of maintenance, repair and operations. Production work requires heavy cutting over long time periods and typically produces more heat than air cooling can remove. Rather than pausing production while the tool cools, using liquid coolant removes significantly more heat more rapidly, and can also speed cutting and reduce friction and tool wear. Hence water soluble cutting fluid is used in this process to reduce friction, heat and to cool tool- work interface. The main problem with water-soluble coolants is that they become contaminated with use and have to be replaced with new ones, thus yielding waste coolant. However, cutting fluids and metal chips result in environmental pollution and are harmful to the human body. So in order control environmental and harmful effect of cutting fluids on the humans, a membrane filtration system integrated with antibacterial layers is preset to the machine to treat the cutting fluids for removal of metal chips, swarf, lubricants and biological contaminants as it passes through the membranes. The cutting fluid is tested to determine parameters such as pH, concentration of fluid, temperature, corrosion and bacterial contamination of water soluble cutting fluid with and without the filtration system to check the effectiveness with respect to cooling and lubricating properties, its degradation effects on tool and work piece thereby reducing the environmental pollution and harmful effects on workers during use and disposal.