Article | REF: TRI1800 V3

Biolubricants. Regulations, Base Oils Family, Eco-Properties and Applications

Author: Mathias WOYDT

Publication date: October 10, 2019

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ABSTRACT

Regulations at international level define biolubricants or environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL) and one sees there a convergence in terms for the key eco-toxicological criteria. These laws and decrees have allowed for the reduction of environmental risks and the protection of natural resources as well as improved the quality of waters. However, although certain "environmentally neutral" lubricants are available, they have only acquired a small market share. This article compares the different regulations for EALs with their historical evolution, analyses the properties of biolubricants as well as their various applications.

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AUTHOR

  • Mathias WOYDT: Doctorate in Materials Science from the Technical University of Berlin - Head of the Tribology and Wear Protection Division at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin - Managing Partner of MATRILUB – Materials, Tribology, Lubrication, Berlin, Germany

 INTRODUCTION

Lost oils, accidental leaks and lost lubricants reaching soil and water (as was the case with Lake Constance, for example) are one of the starting points for the introduction of "environmentally neutral" lubricants. They are now part of the portfolio of all lubricant formulators and manufacturers.

Despite recycling, combustion in engines and known leaks, around 30% (between 20% and 40%, according to studies ) of the volume of lubricants is released into the environment by uncontrolled means, or is probably landfilled illegally. These uncontrolled discharges pose a major problem in terms of monitoring and controlling the quality of drinking and non-drinking water.

With public figures like these, the arguments of petrochemical industry lobbyists that, in most applications, fluids are enclosed in closed, leak-proof tanks are not convincing politicians. Perhaps it's also because, in Germany, around 60% of private individuals change their motor oil themselves.

In a normal economic year, around 4.1 million tonnes of new lubricants are consumed in the EU-27.

In the early 1990s, a series of environmental laws and decrees, as well as technical standards, were imposed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden, and have since found their European counterparts. The trend was initially to reduce environmental risks and protect drinking water resources, forests and nature from hazardous fluids emitted in the event of leakage, damage or emptying by industry, private individuals and construction sites. The scope of the standard ISO 15380 for hydraulic oils underlines this approach at international level.

From the outset, environmentally-friendly oils attracted the attention of the Ministry of Agriculture more because of the "agrolube/-agrilube" or "biosourced" vision,...

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KEYWORDS

biodegradation   |   lubrication   |   biolubes   |   esters   |   environmentally acceptable lubricants


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