Synthetic oil

Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds which are artificially made ( synthesized) using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil. Synthetic oil is used as a substitute for lubricant refined from petroleum when operating in extremes of temperature, because it generally provides superior mechanical and chemical properties than those found in traditional mineral oils. Aircraft turbines, for example, require the use of synthetic oils, whereas aircraft piston engines don't.

History

Dr. Hermann Zorn Eilhard Jantzen: The Origins of Synthetic Lubricants: The Work of Hermann Zorn in Germany, Part 1, Basic Studies of Lubricants and the Polymerisation of Olefins, Journal of Synthetic Lubrication, 12. 1996, Nr. 4, S. 283-301. of I.G. Farben Industries in Germany actually began to search for lubricants with the properties of natural oils but without the tendencies to gel or gum when used in an engine environment. His work H. Zorn, Chemischer Aufbau und physikalische Eigenschaften der Schmierstoffe VDI-Berichte Band 20, 1957, p. 47 ff. Eilhard Jantzen, The Origins of Synthetic Lubricants: The Work of Hermann Zorn in Germany Part 2: esters and Additives for Synthetic Lubricants Journal of Synthetic Lubrication (JSL) 13-2 (1996), led to the preparation of over 3500 esters in the late 1930s and early 1940s including diesters and polyolesters and banana oil. During the same time period in the United States, Dr. W.A. Zisman W.A. Zismann, Historical Review, Lubricants and Lubrication, In:Synthetic Lubricants, eds.: R.C. Gunderson, A.W. Hart, 1962, chapter 2, p. 6-60 working at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) was also synthesizing esters, especially diesters. The first real synthetic engine oils appeared for aircraft engines in World War II concurrently in Germany and in the United States. The motivation in Germany may be primarily related to resource issues, but also to functional performance requirements. The base oils for aircraft engines in Germany were based on a blend of an adipic acid ester with a poly(ethylene) oil M.E. Spaght, German Aircraft Oils were made by Polymerization of Olefins Petroleum Processing, October 1946, p. 126-135 e.g. polymerized olefins/ethylene. Easing engine starts in winter and avoiding soot deposits in the oil radiator were two of the drivers for the U.S. Air Force, D.K. Wilson, Fleet tests of synthetic lubricants SAE Quarterly Transactions, April 1948, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 242-250 C. Kratzer, D.H. Green and D.B. Williams, New synthetic lubricants SAE Journal (Transactions), Vol. 54, No. 5, May, 1946, p. 228-238 to adopt polyglycols (polypropylene glycol monobutylether) starting in March 1944.

Synthetic engine oil

In the early 1960s, Chevron U.S.A integrated the first commercial utilization of hydrocracking technology at its Richmond California refinery Distillate Hydrocracking - Handbook of Petroleum Processing. By 1993 the company introduced lubricant Isodewaxing Isodewaxing - Chevron technology making Chevron one of the world's largest manufacturers of API (category II and III) base oils. Today, API (category III) base oils are marketed to the general public as fully synthetic motor oil. On July 1, 2000, Chevron Corp. combined efforts with Phillips Petroleum Co., now ConocoPhillips, to become Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, LLC. The Chevron Phillips venture is one of the top producers of polyolefin (PAO) Group IV base stocks, some of which are used for automotive synthetic motor oils. Although used in the aviation and aerospace industries beginning in the early 1950s, the first synthetic oil developed for automotive combustion engines and fully recognized by the American Petroleum Institute (API) was produced by the Hatco Corp. It's not your father's motor oil - BNET in 1972 as per specific specification requirements by Albert J. Amatuzio, current President and CEO of Amsoil Inc. This first API-rated synthetic motor oil was distributed exclusively through Amsoil Inc., meeting API (SE/CC) specifications and was based on a 10W-40 grade Diester API (category V) formulation. Today Amsoil Inc. markets a full line of API (category III) licensed synthetic motor oil Amsoil API Cert - API and many other API (category IV) PAO-base oil formulations that are claimed by Amsoil to meet or exceed current API requirements. Other early synthetic motor oils marketed included "The Original Syn!" by SynLube in 1969, NEO Oil Company (formally EON) in 1970; they were dibasic acide esters, or diesters, and polyol ester-based synthetic lubricants. In 1971 All-Proof and Mobil 1, introduced to North America in 1974 a 5W-20 grade(category IV) PAO-base oil About Us - ExxonMobil.

Types

Synthetic Base Stocks

Synthetic motor oils are man made oils from the following classes of lubricants:

Polyalphaolefin (PAO) = American Petroleum Institute (API) 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, Shell, 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 which perform much like polyalphaolefin. Group III base stocks are considered synthetic motor oil only in the United States; Conventional Oil, Synthetic Oil, Synthetic Blend - What You Should Know Before You Choose elsewhere they are not allowed to be marketed as "synthetic".

Semi-synthetic oil

Semi-synthetic oils (also called 'synthetic blends') are blends of mineral oil with no more than 30% synthetic oil. Designed to have 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. DELPHI history Lubricants which have synthetic base stocks even lower 30%, high performance additive packs consisting of esters can also be considered as synthetic lubricants. Ratio of the synthetic base stock is generally used to define commodity codes among the customs declarations of tax purposes.

Other base stocks help semi-synthetic lubricants

Group II and Group III type base stocks help to formulate more economic type semi-synthetic lubricants. Group I, II, II+ and III type mineral base oil stocks are widely used in combination with additive packages, performance packages, ester and/or Group IV polyalphaolefins in order to formulate semi-synthetic based lubricants. Group III base oils are sometimes considered as synthetic but they are still classified as highest top level mineral base stocks. A Synthetic or Synthesized material is one that is produced by combining or building individual units into a unified entry. Synthetic base stocks as described above are man-made and tailored to have a controlled molecular structure with predictable properties, unlike mineral base oils which are complex mixtures of naturally occurring hydrocarbons.ASTM Fuels & Lubricants Handbook, Hydrocarbon Chemistry, pg 169-184, section 7 Lubrication Fundamentals, J. George Wills, Mobil Oil Corporation

Hydrocracked/Hydroisomerized = API Group III base oils. Chevron, Shell, 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. Even though they are considered a synthetic product they are still mineral base stocks and counted as the mineral part of all semi-synthetic lubricants. Group III base stocks certain amount of mixture of PAOs and esters and Group V are considered synthetic motor oil ONLY in the United States. Group III based lubricants are not allowed to be marketed as "synthetic" in any market outside of the USA. Within the US, there are no official specifications, or standards as to which oils can be marketed as "synthetic".

Performance

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
Extended drain intervals with the environmental benefit of less oil waste.
Improved fuel economy in certain engine configurations.
Better lubrication on cold starts
Longer engine life

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of synthetic motor oils include

The lower friction may make them unsuitable for break-in (i.e. the initial run-in period of the vehicle) where friction is desirable to cause wear. Improved engine part machining has made break-in less critical than it once was, though. Many modern cars now come with synthetic oil as a factory fill.
Potential decomposition problems in certain chemical environments (industrial use dominantly)
Potential stress cracking of plastic components like POM ( polyoxymethylene) in the presence of PAOs ( polyalphaolefins).
Synthetics do not hold lead in suspension as well as mineral oil, thus caution is advised when the engine is run on leaded fuel. As an example, leaded fuel is still commonly used in aviation ( avgas).
In July 1996, Consumer Reports published the results of a two year motor oil test involving a fleet of 75 New York taxi cabs and found no noticeable advantage of synthetic oil over regular mineral oil.

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