Base Oil for
Lubricants
- Manufacture & classification
Hussam Adeni
What are Lubricants
• Lubricants
• Special materials to
•Reduce friction
•Reduce wear
• In machine elements
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What are lubricants
• Lubricants come in a variety of
forms
• Liquids – fluids
• Semi solids - grease
• Even solid, at times - graphite
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What are lubricants
• Lubricants are
• Mineral Oils
• Vegetable oils
• Synthetic
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What are Lubricants
• Lubricant comprise of
• Base oil or carrier fluid
• Specially formulated
additives
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Flow chart – Lube
manufacture
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What are lubricants
Finished lubricants
- a careful blend of
• Base Oils
• And additives
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Base Oil manufacture
Overview of the process
• A series of steps
• To improve desirable lube properties
• Viscosity Index
• Oxidation
• Heat resistance
• Low temperature fluidity
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Base oil manufacture
Starting with crude oil, typical process
of making lube oil consists of
•Separation
•Removal
•Distillation
•Dewaxing
•Finishing
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Base oil manufacture
• Crude oil distillation
- First the lighter ends removed
Motor spirit
Kerosene
Solvents
- Middle distillates separated
Lube base stocks
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Base Oil manufacture
- Flowchart
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Distillation – Top fraction
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Base oil manufacturing
process
• Middle distillates refined further
•Vacuum distillation
•Propane de asphalting
•Solvent refining
•Solvent dewaxing
•Treating
•Clay filtering
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Base oil manufacturing
process
• Lubes base stocks
- Vacuum distillation
Single stage
Multi stage
required for removal of “balance”
- lighter ends
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Base oil manufacture -
Flowchart
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Distillation – middle fraction
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Base oil manufacturing
• Lubes base stocks
- Dewaxing
- MEK – Toulene
- For Pour Point reduction
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Base oil manufacturing
• Hydrofinishing
- Reduction with hydrogen
- For removal of
Sulphur
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Improves heat & oxidation stability
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Base oil manufacturing
• De asphalting
- Reduction with propane
- For removal of
Asphaltic compounds
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Crude Oil composition
• Composition (weight %)
• Carbon 84%
• Hydrogen 14%
• Sulphur 1.5%
• Others (nitrogen, Oxygen,
Metals, salts) < 2%
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Yield – Base Oil
manufacturing process
• Yield in percentages
• Gasoline 44%
• Diesel 21%
• Kerosene /Jet Fuel 9%
• Others ( Coke , asphalt, residual
fuel oil) 25%
• Lube Oil base stock 1%
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Base Oils types
• Paraffinic 60%
• Naphthenic 28%
• Aromatic 12%
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Base Oil classification
• Pale Oils
• Lighter ends
• Neutrals
• Middle ends
• Bright stock
• Heavy ends
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Typical base oils
• Solvent neutrals
• SN 70
• SN 100
• SN 150
• SN 300
• SN 350
• SN 500
• SN 650
• SN 900
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Typical base oils
• Bright stock
• BS 150
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API classifications – Base Oils
• American Petroleum Institute (API)
• Group I, II, II+
• Mineral Oils
• Group III, IV, V
• Synthetic Oils
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API classifications – Base Oils
• American Petroleum Institute (API)
• Group I,
• Solvent Refined base stocks
• Mineral Oils
• Group II, II+,III
• Solvent refined and Hydro treated
• Group IV, V
• Synthetics
• Polymerized olefins from petrochemical source
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API Base Oil –
Interchange Guidelines
Base Oil Sulphur Saturates Viscosity
category (%) (%) Index (VI)
Group I > 0.03 < 90 80 to 120
Group II < 0.03 > 90 80 to 120
Group III < 0.03 > 90 > 120
Group IV All polyalphaolefins (PAO)
Group V All others not included in
Group I, II, III or IV
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Typical cost of base oils
• From crude oils - Yield of Lube
stocks is 1%
• If crude price is “X”
• Lube base oil price = “2X”
• In short base oil costs can be upto
“twice” price of crude oil
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What is a lubricant
• Finished lubricants
- Careful blend of
• Base Oils
• additives
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What is a lubricant
Finished lubricants
=
Base Oils
+
Additives
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What are additives
Lubricant additives
- classified on their
functional capability
[Link] existing property
[Link] undesirable property
[Link] new property
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What are additives
1. Enhance existing property
• Anti oxidant
• Corrosion inhibitor
• Anti foam agent
• Demulsifying agent
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What are additives
2. Suppress undesirable base oil
property
• Pour Point depressant
• VI improver
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What are additives
3. Impart new property
• E P additive
• Anti wear agents
• Detergents
• Dispersants
• Metal deactivators
• Tackiness agents
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Base oils – Holly Lubricants &
Specialities Ltd
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Thank you
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