Article originally published on Noria.com
Much has been said and written about biodegradable lubricants for the past several years. Manufacturers and blenders of these products promote biodegradables for use based on the importance of biodegradability and nontoxicity.
But performance issues — like oxidation stability, antiwear protection, hydrolytic stability, viscosity-temperature properties and cost factors — are usually presented only wherever these features provide an advantage to the particular manufacturer. The two primary classes of biodegradable lubricants, vegetable oils and synthetics, have been described and well documented, when compared with traditional mineral oil-base lubricants.
However, little information has been provided by major oil companies or the manufacturers of these biodegradable products with regard to application guidelines or the maintenance of these products once they are in use as machine lubricants.
Industrial users of these products must be prepared to treat biodegradable lubricants somewhat differently than standard mineral-base oils. In order to understand these application and maintenance requirements, it is necessary to review the various types of biodegradable lubricants to point out their advantages and disadvantages.
(more on application and maintenance of biodegradable oils...)
