Lubricant Formulation

Overview

Lubricating oils perform a number of important functions in the diesel

engine:

 Wear reduction of components such as bearings, pistons, piston

rings, cylinder liners and the valve train,
 Friction reduction of boundary and hydrodynamically lubricated
components,
 Piston cooling,
 Corrosion prevention due to acids and moisture,
 Cleaning pistons and preventing sludge build-up on internal surfaces,
 Keeping seals lubricated and controlling swelling to prevent leakage
due to seal failure and
 Serving as a hydraulic media in components such as HEUI fuel
systems.

Engine lubricants consist of a base oil (typically 75 - 83%), viscosity

modifier (5 - 8%) and an additive package (12 - 18%) [Boschert 2002]. As
the base oil alone cannot provide all of the lubricating oil functions required
in modern engines, the additive package has evolved to play an
increasingly important role in the oil formulation.

Step 1 ... Base oils

Like building most things, it all starts with the foundations and when it
comes to lubricants that is the base oils and this is where the chemistry
starts.
Choosing the base stock type is a determining factor in the finished product
quality, low quality starts with "recycled" group 1 base oils, next up is
solvent refined virgin group 1 and then we get into the better hydrocracked
group 2 and group 3 and so on, group 4 base stocks (PAO's) are rarely
used in most of todays oils and are usually reserved for extreme situations
(more on base oils here) as they are very expensive when compared to all
others.
Base stocks are available in various viscosities (thickness) and by blending
2 or more different base stocks to a given formulation results in the correct
"base viscosity" for a given product.
Companies wanting to compete on price usually elect to go for the cheaper
recycled and group 1 base stocks, group 2 and group 3 base stocks are
more expensive to produce making it difficult for those electing to use the
better base stocks to compete, having said that however, dearer price is
not always an indication of better quality, it just may be that the marketing
is better and more expensive.
Another factor to be considered is the oil companies own use of the word
synthetic, world wide it is the accepted norm that when it comes to using
the term semi synthetic that the synthetic base stock content of that product
is at least 50% of the total base stock but many opt to go with 30% or even
less because of cost factors. In Austalia there is no legislation in this to
adhere to so most do what ever they want and get away with it.
Be aware of the terms "synthetic enhanced" or "synthetic fortified" as this
means nothing other than indicating an oil company wanting to use the
word "synthetic" on their label in an attempt to create an illusion of a better
product, here there are no set parameters and all they would have to do is
have say 3% synthetic for example, to be able to ethically use the term
synthetic enhanced etc on their labelling.
The use of recycled base stocks is quite common amongst those
companies focussed on profit first and this is to your detriment, do not be
fooled into thinking that a company use's recycled base oils in only some
products and not others as many claim, the rule of thumb is that if they are
prepared to "cheat" on some then they will most likely cheat on many.
Ask your supplier as to what base stocks they use in their products, it is
your money you are spending and you are entitled to know and there are
ways of checking, for example in hydraulic fluids where the additives are
clear (no colour) the finished recycled product will be darker than the virgin
product and the group 2 & 3 products will be clear, ask enough and you
may well be surprised as to who is using the poorer quality base stocks.
In summary, base stock choices are the first and a critical point in
determining product quality and performance.
Step 2 ... Additives
This is where the chemistry gets deeper but it is not as involved as you
may think.
There are only a handfull of additive manufacturers world wide that are
considered to be leaders in the industry and it is those leaders that work
closely with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's) and rating bodies
such as API, ACEA, ILSAC to name a few to produce additives to the
satisfaction to those OEM's and bodies and we as blenders take direction
from those companies when it comes to blending to a specific rating or
standard.
We use several but in the main most of our additives come from the
Lubrizol Corporation who provide formulation assistance and technical
backup in many ways as the additive type and percentage determines the
performance rating of an oil as well as other characteristics.
An engine oil for example does perform many duties apart from lubrication
such as;

It may also have the function of transmitting forces, transporting foreign

particles, or heating or cooling the surfaces.

It is mainly used to reduce friction and to contribute to a better and efficient

functioning of a mechanism.