Definition
The industrial oils begin as crude petroleum found naturally in the earth and
before to become lubricant, refined with a complex process removing impurities and
undesirable fractions.
They are basically hydrocarbons, organic compounds made up principally of hydrogen and
carbon.
The crude oils are divided in three types:
- Paraffinic (Pennsylvania)
- Naphtenic or coastal (California)
- Mixed or Intermediate or Mid-Continental
| Types and
properties |
| 1 |
Aromatics |
cyclic chain with both
saturated and unsaturated carbon bonds |
| 2 |
Paraffins |
chemically
saturated - viscosity and boiling point higher than naphthenes excellent as lubricants |
| 3 |
Naphthenes |
generally
saturated, cyclic molecules containing one or more unsaturated ring groups |
| 4 |
Synthetic |
. |
The coming of synthetic lubricants (oils and grease) has
opened a new age in the industrial application where the operating conditions outstrip the
capacities of the conventional lubricants petroleum-based.
Contrary to current opinion, the synthetic fluids are often manufactured from petroleum
feedstocks. The base of this big difference is that the synthetic fluid is a chemical
combination of various simple molecules that amalgamate together in special process give a
product with specific properties, controlled molecular structure and predictable
properties.
The advantages of synthetics over petroleum lubricants, are:
- increase of wear protection
- extension of the service life more than five times mineral base lubricant
- reduction of the consumption
- reduction or exclusion of deposits and residues
- improvement of the cold weather performance
The major class of synthetic fluid are:
| 4/a |
Polyglycols |
excellent
viscosity and good resistance to the temperatures |
| 4/b |
Organic Ester |
shear-stable
viscosity over a wide temperature range |
| 4/c |
Polyester |
similar
for performance advantages to Organic ester but usable at even higher temperatures |
| 4/d |
Synthesized
Hydrocarbons |
purely
paraffinic with a "natural" low pour point without impurities, superior
oxidation resistance high viscosity index |
| 4/e |
Phosphate Ester |
fire resistance fluid |
| 5/f |
Perfluoropolyether
(PFPE) |
excellent
thermal resistance, excellent chemical and solvent resistance, total non-flammability |
|
