Production of Grease:

Slide 2:
• It is defined as ‘a solid to semi-solid product in which a thickening agent is
dispersed in a liquid lubricant.

• These are dispersions of metallic soaps or other thickeners in a mineral or

synthetic lubricating oil.

• They vary in texture from soft to hard and in colour from light amber to
dark brown.

• Their particular value lies in the fact that unlike liquid lubricants and
because of their semi-solid nature they will stay in place in a bearing
assembly with comparatively elementary mechanical seals.

• Furthermore they assist in the sealing against extraneous material and in

contrast to oil will lubricate without constant replenishment.

Slide 3: Grease Classification

 They are classified according to the type of thickener as well as a series of
tests.
 Greases in which soap is the thickener are known as soap-base greases and
are subdivided according to the type of soap.
 Into aluminum, calcium, lithium or sodium greases.
 Each additive is to provide a distinction of the type grease to be used.
 National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) based in America asses greases
and classify them.
Slide 4: Composition
• Mineral oil is the base material that is used in the production of grease.

• The choice of oil depends on the intended application and may extend from
light spindle oil to heavy steam-cylinder oil but in general light or medium
machine oil is preferred.

• The soap-type thickeners which are calcium, sodium or lithium salts of fatty
acids and are produced by the soaponification of the fat or fatty acid with
the appropriate alkali in the presence of the oil.

• In most soap-based greases the soap is dispersed in the grease as fibers or

ribbons varying in size from about 1 to 100 microns in length
diameter/ratio of about 10 to 100.

• As with lubricating oil, various additives are incorporated into greases in

order to confer or enhance certain properties such as rust prevention,
resistance to oxidation and extreme pressure properties and to improve
stability.

Slide 5: Making of Grease

 The early development of greases was in the hands of families of grease
makers who worked largely in boiling in open pans the greases.

 The problems confronting the present-day grease manufacturer are

exceedingly varied, in that he must be able to supply not only greases of all
types, but greases varying in widely in consistency and in other
characteristics such as stability melting point and load bearing properties.

 A plant should consist of a manufacturing building not less than three

stories high to house the manufacturing units, the flow of work being
 arranged downwards to the ground floor. On which all packing, storage,
and delivery should be accommodated.

 Ad juncture to the manufacturing building should be suitable power house

capable of supplying the necessary heating steam, preferably at high and
low pressure, for the heating of manufacturing kettles and melting of
ingredients.

 As it is also necessary to supply some means of raising temperature of

certain greases to above 250oC.

 In a typical modern factory, the top floor holds the measuring tanks, used
for the measuring and melting of ingredient fats, oils, caustic soda solution,
for the preparation of lime mixtures which will be used to convert the fats
in to lime soaps.

 The supply of mineral oil are arranged by the flow of gravity into the
measuring vessels from over head tanks or by pumps operating on a
suction manifold to tanks situated at a lower level.

An autoclave is a device to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to

high pressure steam at 121° C or more. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in
1879,[1] although a precursor known as the steam digester was created by Denis
Papin in 1679.


Slide 6: Making of Grease
• The contents from the measuring vessels should flow to the autoclave
situated on the floor below, either by gravity through the filter to take out
any contaminants. It’s preferable to use a pump so that the autoclave is
charged under pressure.

• The autoclave the discharges the contents by means of a swing arm on the
outlet valve into either of the two jacketed kettles on the floor below,
which is used in the finishing of the manufacture of grease.
 • The kettles should be capable of being heated by means of high-pressure
steam or being cooled by means of water through the steam jacket.

• These kettles are made to allow the grease to flow in to suitable containers
for the finished grease, or preferable the grease could be pumped through
a suitable fine-mesh filter, in order to eliminate the possibility of
contaminating material.

• It is also desirable to make provision to by-pass ingredients from the

measuring kettles direct to the manufacturing kettles if necessary, so that
any method of open pan method can be employed instead of the autoclave
method.

Slide 8: Types of Grease

• Calcium-Soap Grease: Resistant to water, they have a smooth texture and
their chief use is for plain bearings and low-speed rolling bearings.

• Sodium-Soap Greases: These are fibrous in structure, they are resistant to

moderately high temperature but are not resistant to water. Used for
rolling bearings at higher temperatures.

• Lithium-Soap Greases: These were developed during WWII. Smooth in

appearance but sometimes exhibit a grain structure. Resistant to water and
to the highest normal service

• Aluminum-Soap Greases: These are invariably translucent. They are made

with oils of high viscosity, they often contain polymers and although water
resistant and adhesive, they possess poor mechanical stability and so are
not suitable for rolling bearings.
Slide 9: Properties and Assessment
• Penetration Test: A double angled cone is allowed to fall freely into grease
under controlled conditions and the depth of penetration measured in
tenths of a millimeter is taken as the penetration value. The harder the
grease the lower the penetration value. The worked penetration is normally
used for classification and the (NLGI) has classified greases into universally
accepted grades according to penetration ranges running from very soft
grease Grade 000 to very stiff grease at Grade 6.

• Drop Point: It is the indication of the temperature at which grease passes

from a semi-fluid to liquid state.

• Flow Properties: Grease is non-Newtonian in behavior and, unlike oils, an

initial shear stress (yield value) must be applied before it will deform and
commence to flow. It is this non-Newtonian characteristic that enables
grease to offer certain advantages over lubricating oils and results in their
extensive use for the lubrication of rolling bearings. Cone Resistance Value
maximum temperature that grease may have to operate.

Slide 10: Properties and Assessment

• Mechanical Stability: The ability of grease to withstand a large degree of
mechanical working without changing its consistency unduly can be
important during the initial clearing stages in bearing assembly under
vibrating conditions.

Other Tests Include:

• Volatility- expected life of grease under high temperatures.

• Oxidation Stability-when contacted with steel or bronze under storage are

exposed to air and moisture which promotes oxidation of the grease.
 • Water Resistance

• Anti-Corrosion Properties

• Extreme Pressure Properties

Design Specification:
Autoclave:
 One of the important aspects with regards to the autoclave design is that it
must be able to withstand high pressures up to 150 lb/in2 (1034kPa).
Because the primary function of the autoclave is to saponify the fatty
ingredients of the grease under high pressure.
 It consists of rotating blades of such design that thorough and
homogeneous mixture of the contents can readily be obtained.

Manufacturing Kettles:
 Should also be designed on similar principle to those outlined above,
with the exception that being opened to the atmosphere they can be
made of lighter construction.