Microwave Grease and Lubricant Manufacturing - Sponsored Whitepaper

Microwave Grease and Lubricant Manufacturing

Bio-Lubricant Innovation in Grease and Lubricant Processing

Bio-lubricant Innovation Lubricants and grease products constitute a downstream specialty business that generates significant revenues and profits for producers. Most of the major oil companies are key players in the lubricants industry, but independent producers still hold a significant share of lubricant volume in many countries.

There are several thousand different lubricant products manufactured in the United States alone that are made from mineral, animal and vegetable materials. They fall into three categories: automotive lubricants, industrial lubricants and greases. Lubricating grease is a solid or semisolid lubricant composed of a fluid lubricant with an added thickening agent. The fluid base is typically petroleum-derived, while the thickening agent usually consists of soap made from aluminum, barium, calcium, lithium, sodium or strontium. On occasion, if wide temperature variations are encountered, the fluid base is a synthetic, such as silicone or polyalkylene glycol.

There is growing interest in bio-lubricants that use vegetable and mineral oils to reduce petroleum-based oil stock. Some of this development is being driven by environmental and regulatory pressures. These new compounds blend a variety of eco-friendly oils such as soybean, canola (rapeseed) and sunflower seed which are nontoxic and renewable. In addition, some research indicates vegetable-based lubricants, made with individual fatty acids can perform better in motor vehicle engines and other applications than their petroleum-based counterparts.