Purwanchal Lube Oil, also known as PLO, located at Biratchowk, Morang, is one of the biggest and well

established lubricant companies in Nepal. With over 60 types of products and over 30 certified dealers
all over Nepal, PLO produces approximately gross 10 tons of the products per day. The major products
of PLO are Grease and Lube Oil.

Fig: Storage Tank for the Raw Materials (Base Oil)

Production of Grease:

- Raw materials i.e. Base oil of different grades like, SN500, SN32, SN150, BS150, SN10, SN600 is
imported from the oil refineries and stored in large storage tanks.
- These raw materials are transferred from the storage tanks to the sump tank, inside the factory.
- The required composition of the base oil is sent to a reactor where, it is heated along with
reactants like, HCO, Lithium, SN500 oil, Yellow dye and RPO (Rubber Process Oil).
- Firstly, the saponification process occurs, and then additional base oil is added to cool the
mixture and form grease.
- Finally, this thoroughly mixed product is sent to a storage tank for storage and then sent to
packaging.
- The maximum operating temperature is 210-215 oC, and steady state temperature is attained at
125oC

Production of Lube Oil:

- The base oil is heated to 60-90oC when and where additives are added and mixed to produce
lube oil.

Laboratory tests:

- Both the grease and lube oil undergo tests for, viscosity, flash point, pour point, drop point,
penetration.
- And then, these tests are done again after running the grease and lube oil over 10000 bearings.
Results and discussions:

- In this way, PLO produces different products of different grades based on the composition and
grades of the resources used.
- Even if a batch somehow turns out bad, it can be used to produce another product of a lower
grade. This makes sure that no material is wasted and the waste to be removed is also reduced.
- The factory is trying to replace the current diesel based process, by adding an electricity
operated process, which will make the factory even more eco-friendly.