Overview of Lubricant Components

For
Health and Safety Professionals

Introduction

There are many different types of lubricants in use today including engine oils,
automotive gear oils, transmission fluids, hydraulic fluids, industrial gear oils and
grease.

Most lubricants are composed of base oil (refined petroleum or synthetic base stocks
such as poly-olefins or esters) as the carrier fluid; a performance additive package (a
mixture of chemically and surface active petroleum chemicals that imparts performance
properties not present in the base oil); and viscosity modifiers and other chemically
inactive components that enhance the physical properties of the lubricant.

The performance additive package contains three types of components:

Chemically active: These components interact chemically with metal

surfaces to form protective coatings or with combustion by-products and
other degradation products to render them harmless. They impart
performance properties to lubricants such as corrosion and oxidation
inhibition, wear protection, deposit build-up prevention and contaminant
containment.

Surface active: These compounds associate physically with surfaces

and modify the tribological conditions between surfaces or prevent
corrosion.

Chemically Inactive: These components modify the physical properties

of the lubricants, for instance, viscosity at high and low temperature, low
temperature flow properties and foaming characteristics. Chemically
inactive components are intended to interact with equipment operating
parts or metal surfaces.

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 1

Performance Additive Package

Performance additive package components are derived from a large base of chemicals.
The table below describes components of each type.

Chemically Active Typical Chemical Chemically Inactive Typical Chemical

or Surface Active
Dispersant Succinimides Foam Inhibitor Poly-Siloxanes
Detergent Sulfonate, Phenate Viscosity Modifier OCP (Olefin
or Salicylates Copolymers),
(Calcium, Styrene-Butadiene
Magnesium or (SB) Copolymers,
Sodium) Styrene- Isoprene
(SI) Copolymers
Inhibitors Pour Point Poly Alkyl
Oxidation Hindered Phenols, Depressant Methacrylates,
Aromatic Amines Maleic Anhydride/
or Sulfurized Olefin Styrene Copolymer
Polyether and Esters
Rust
Sulfonates
Alkyl Borate Ester,
Corrosion
Ethoxylated
AlkylPhenol
Antiwear Agent ZnDDP (Zinc Friction Modifier Oleyl Amide,
dialkyl di- Glycerol Monooleate
thiophosphates)
Extreme Pressure Olefin Sulfides, Emulsifier Poly Olefin Ester
Agent Phosphoric Acid
Esters
Demulsifier Polyether
Friction Modifier Oleyl Amide,
Glycerol
Monooleate

The types and quantities of these components in performance additive packages for oils
will vary based on the intended application. For example, an additive package for
engine oils typically will contain dispersant, detergent, anti-wear agent and oxidation
inhibitors, all of which are chemically active, friction modifiers which are surface active
and antifoam agents, which are chemically inactive.

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 2

Engine Oils

A typical engine oil formulation consists of base oil plus a performance additive
package, viscosity modifier and a pour point depressant. Oil for a gasoline-fueled
engine might be made up of 70-95% base oil and 5-20% performance additive along
with 0-20% viscosity modifier and 0-1% pour point depressant. The performance
additive will contain a mixture of several types of chemically active materials. Viscosity
modifiers and pour point depressants are petrochemicals that enable the oil to maintain
fluidity over a wide range of operating temperatures and are usually chemically inactive
materials.

Some of the components typically used in the performance packages for engine oils are
listed below:

Component Amount Type Function

Suspend contaminants
Dispersant 30 - 60% CA
Cleanliness
Rust protection
Detergent 15 - 20% CA
Acid neutralization
Diluent Oil 10 - 20% BO Fluidity

Antiwear Agent 8 - 12% CA Wear control

Ashless Inhibitor 5 - 15% CA Oxidation protection

Antifoam Agent 0 - 0.2% CI Foam suppression

Friction Modifier 1 - 2% CA/SA Friction reduction

CA= Chemically Active SA= Surface Active CI = Chemically Inactive

BO = Base Oil

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 3

Automatic Transmission Fluids

A typical automatic transmission fluid (ATF) would be composed of the following

components:

Component Amount Type Function

Additive Package 10 - 12 %
Friction Modifiers CA/SA Reduce friction
Oxidation Inhibitors CA Oxidation prevention
Detergents/Dispersants CA Acid neutralization and
deposit prevention
Corrosion Inhibitors CA Metal surface
Antiwear CA protection
Seal swell agents CI Durability
Antifoam CI Prevent leaks
Prevent foaming
Viscosity Modifier 3–8% CI Viscosity stabilization
Base Oil 80 – 90% BO Carrier fluid
Red Dye 250 PPM CI Color

CA= Chemically Active SA= Surface Active CI = Chemically Inactive

BO = Base Oil

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 4

Hydraulic Fluids

A typical hydraulic fluid includes base oil plus a performance additive package.
Performance additives for hydraulic fluids are categorized into two groups:

Antiwear hydraulic (AWH) additive packages contain oxidation, rust and wear
inhibitors, metal deactivators, extreme pressure agents and foam inhibitors.

Rust and oxidation (R & O) additive packages contain anti-oxidants, rust inhibitors,
foam inhibitors and metal deactivators.

Typical levels of these components in a hydraulic fluid are shown in the following table:

Component Amount Type Function

Extreme Pressure (EP)
and Antiwear Agents
Antiwear 0-1% CA Durability

Antiscuff 0-1 % CA Durability

Oxidation Inhibitors 0-1% CA Inhibit oxidation

Cleanliness Agents

Deposit control and

Detergents 0 - 2% CA
Neutralize acids

Inhibitors

Rust 0 - 0.2% CA Rust prevention

Non-ferrous corrosion
Corrosion 0 - 0.2% CA
protection

Foam 200 ppm CI Foam suppression

Friction Modifiers 0 - 0.1% CA/SA Reduce friction

CA= Chemically Active SA= Surface Active CI = Chemically Inactive

BO = Base Oil

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 5

Automotive Gear Oils

Automotive gear oils are likely to contain some of the same components used in
hydraulic fluids and ATF, but have a predominant amount of EP (extreme pressure)
additives. A gear oil might include the following components:

Base oil 70 - 95%

Performance package 2 - 30%
Viscosity modifier 0 - 15%
Pour point depressant 0 - 2%

The performance additives found in typical automotive gear oils might look like this:

Component Amount Type Function

Extreme Pressure Agents (EP)

Antiwear 0-3% CA Durability

Antiscuff 0-3% CA Durability

Oxidation Inhibitors 0-1% CA Inhibit oxidation

Cleanliness Agents
Deposit control and
Dispersants 0-5% CA
Contain contaminants
Inhibitors

Rust 0 - 0.5% CA Rust prevention

Non-ferrous corrosion
Corrosion 0 - 0.1% CA
protection
Foam 200 ppm CI Antifoaming

Friction Modifiers 0 - 0.2% CA/SA Reduce friction

CA= Chemically Active SA= Surface Active CI = Chemically Inactive

BO = Base Oil

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 6

Greases

Greases usually contain performance additive components similar to those in gear oils
but rely on thickening agents to provide the ability to stay in place and stick on the parts
they lubricate. The thickener is the most important component of the grease formulation,
since it will determine the physical characteristics of the grease and will have a major
influence on its performance. A typical grease composition is given below:

Base oil 77 - 92%

Performance additive package 2 - 8%
Thickener 6 - 15%

A performance package for a grease formulation might contain many or all of the
following components:

Chemically Active Function Chemically Inactive Function

or Surface Active

Antioxidants Prevent Viscosity Modifiers Viscosity control

oxidation

Rust Inhibitors Water Pour Point Low temperature

corrosion depressants flow
prevention

Corrosion Inhibitors Yellow metal

corrosion
prevention

EP Agents Durability Demulsifiers Water resistance

Antiwear Agents Durability

Friction Modifiers Friction Tackiness Agents Thickener/ Water

reduction resistance

CA= Chemically Active SA= Surface Active CI = Chemically Inactive

BO = Base Oil

© 2009 The Lubrizol Corporation 7