Synthetic oil

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Mobil 1 oil
Mobil 1 oil

Synthetic oil is oil consisting of chemical compounds which were not originally present in crude oil (petroleum) but were artificially made (synthesized) from other compounds. Synthetic oil could be made to be a substitute for petroleum or specially made to be a substitute for a lubricant oil such as conventional (or mineral) motor oil refined from petroleum. When a synthetic oil or synthetic fuel is made as a substitute for petroleum, it is generally produced because of a shortage of petroleum or because petroleum is too expensive. When synthetic oil is made as a substitute for lubricant refined from petroleum, it is generally to provide superior mechanical and chemical properties than those found in traditional mineral oils.

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[edit] synthetic oil as a substitute for crude oil (petroleum)

One form of synthetic oil is that manufactured using the Fischer-Tropsch process which converts carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. This process was developed and used extensively in World War II by Germany, which had limited access to crude oil supplies. Germany's yearly synthetic oil production reached millions of tons in 1944. It is today used in South Africa to produce most of that country's diesel.

Another form of synthetic oil is that produced at kcmq Syncrude sands plant. This huge facility removes highly viscous bitumen from oil sands mined nearby, and uses a variety of processes of hydrogenation to turn it into high-quality synthetic crude oil. The Syncrude plant supplies about 14% of Canada's petroleum output. A similar plant is the smaller nearby facility owned by Suncor.

[edit] Synthetic Base Stocks

Synthetic motor oils have been made from the following classes of lubricants:

  • Polyalphaolefin (PAO) = API (American Petroleum Institute) Group IV base oil
  • Synthetic esters, etc = API Group V base oils (non-PAO synthetics, including diesters, polyolesters, alklylated napthlenes, alkyklated benzenes, etc.)
  • Hydrocracked/Hydroisomerized = API Group III base oils. Chevron, Mobil, and other petrochemical companies developed processes involving catalytic conversion of feed stocks under pressure in the presence of hydrogen into high quality mineral lubricating oil. In 2005 production of GTL (Gas-to-liquid) Group III base stocks began. The best of these perform much like polyalphaolefin. Group III base stocks are considered synthetic motor oil in North America.[1][2]

[edit] Automotive use history

Although in use in the aerospace industry for some years prior, synthetic oil first became commercially available in an API-approved formula for automobile engines when the French Oil company MOTUL introduced a commercial ester-based synthetic-oil in 1971[3]. Other early synthetic motor oils included All-Proof, a 10W-50 polyolester-based motor oil introduced in 1970, Amsoil, introduced in 1972[4] (with a diester-based 10W-40 formula developed by Hatco) and Mobil 1, introduced in North America in 1974[5] (with a PAO-based 5W-20 formula).

[edit] Required applications

Many modern high-performance vehicles specify synthetic motor oils. Some manufacturer specifications include:

  • GM-LL-B-025 (diesel engines)
  • GM-LL-A-025 (petrol or gasoline powered engines)
  • VW 502.00/505.00/503.01 (includes both diesel and petrol or gasoline engines)
  • MB 229.5 (DaimlerChrysler)
  • BMW Longlife 01
  • Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (4G63 engine)
  • Honda HTO-06
  • Porsche Approval list 2002
  • Some Briggs & Stratton small engines.

Various motor oils made from Group III, Group IV, and/or Group V base oils are on the market that meet one or more of these manufacturer specifications.

[edit] Advantages

The technical advantages of synthetic motor oils include:

  • Measurably better low and high temperature viscosity performance
  • Better chemical & shear stability
  • Decreased evaporative loss
  • Resistance to oxidation, thermal breakdown and oil sludge problems
  • Reduced engine deposits in some applications (Turbos)
  • Extended drain intervals with the environmental benefit of less waste oil created.

[edit] Benefits

Use of synthetic lubricants gives benefits such as:

  • Better viscosity index relates to lower cold start viscosity
  • Better fuel economy due to more efficient engine operation
  • Improved performance
  • Decreased oil consumption
  • Provide a heavier, more stable protective oil film for engine bearings and piston rings
  • Potential for long drain capability due to oxidation resistance.

[edit] Disadvantages

The disadvantages of synthetic motor oils include:

  • Initial costs are usually multiplied by 3 compared to petroleum based oils, though at one time man-made oils were ten times greater
  • The lower friction makes them unsuitable for break-in
  • Potential decomposition problems in certain chemical environments (industrial use dominantly)
  • Potential stress cracking of plastic componentry like POM (polyoxymethylene) in the presence of PAO's.

Initial costs are usually mitigated by extended change intervals, but each particular user may find as useful confirmation of that through used oil analysis (UOA).

[edit] Semi-synthetic oil

Semi-synthetic oils (also called 'synthetic blends') are blends of mineral oil with no more than 30% synthetic oil. They are designed to provide many of the benefits of synthetic oil without matching the cost of pure synthetic oil. MOTUL introduced the first semi-synthetic motor oil in 1966.[6]

[edit] Health issues

A non profit group called AOPIS [7] was set up by crew members in 2001 to tackle the health and flight safety issues of bleed air being contaminated by synthetic jet engine oils and hydraulic fluids in jet aircraft

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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