Croda Lubricant Additives
Innovation to Benefit Our World, Our Environment and Our Future

By Chris Donaghy, Sales Director - Lubricant and Polymer Additives | TLT CMF Plus November 2010

Introduction
A strong reputation for quality and innovation, coupled with a leading edge corporate commitment to renewability and sustainability, Croda’s speciality products are recognized as adding value, imparting demonstrable effects and reducing environmental impact.

Croda Lubricant Additives solves customer’s problems with high quality products drawing solutions from unique technology platforms.

Croda’s proven technology platform strengths include:

• Ester technology, including multi-functional esters (Priolube™)
• Polyalkylene glycols (Emkarox™)
• Polymeric surfactants (Hypermer™)
• Self-emulsifying surfactants combining lubrication and emulsification into one product
• Speciality effect additives (Perfad™, Crodacor™, Monazoline™ and Crodasinic™)
• Polymerized fatty acids (Prisorine™, Pripol™)

Through our application expertise, Croda utilizes its technology platforms to tackle the lubrication needs of today and the performance and legislative targets of the future.

Croda products are targeted to add value in the following areas:

• Improved fuel economy
• Reduced exhaust emissions
• Extended oil drain and maintenance intervals
• Extended machine tool and equipment life
• Achieve sustainability objectives

Improved Fuel Efficiency Through Ester Technology
Croda focuses its ester technology on improving fuel efficiency through two approaches:

• Reducing bulk oil viscosity while maintaining film thickness and acceptable volatility.
• Reducing friction by using new, thermally stable, organic friction modifiers and/or new, novel polymeric friction modifiers that provide exceptional film forming performance

Croda has developed a range of low viscosity, thermally stable esters which offer superior volatility performance. These esters can help formulators improve the fuel economy performance of their engine oils by dropping the bulk viscosity while maintaining required NOACK performance.

Croda continues to innovate in the area of friction modifiers. Croda has developed thermally stable friction modifiers that improve FEI2 performance as well as next generation polymeric organic friction modifiers that deliver unprecedented levels of friction reduction.

Fuel economy improvements are being looked at in all parts of the automobile, not just the engine. Significant fuel economy gains can be delivered through the use of new and improved transmission technologies, i. e.: continuously variable transmissions and dual clutch transmissions. New and improved lubricants are required to enable this transmission technology to deliver the driver experience and fuel economy benefits that today’s discerning drivers demand.

Croda’s ester and friction modifier technologies have been proven to significantly improve the frictional characteristics and durability of dual clutch fluids. Improved durability allows for extended drain intervals.

Esters and friction modifiers can both be used to achieve friction control and durability required for dual clutch lubricants. Croda has developed an in-house bench test to rapidly evaluate the effect that these additives have on extending fluid life. Figure 1 and Figure 2 demonstrate the improvement in fluid life and friction control that can be achieved by using Croda’s ester and organic friction modifier technology.


Figure 1.


Figure 2.

Esters and friction modifiers are equally suited for use in automatic transmission fluids where friction control is paramount.

Optimization of Industrial Oils
Croda’s high viscosity complex esters offer the formulator new, cost effective options for shear stable thickeners with the added benefit of improved anti wear performance. The critical physical properties of these esters are shown in Figure 3. These esters contain no metals and are comprised of mostly renewable resources.


Figure 3.

Another tool for the industrial oil formulator is Croda’s revamped line of oil-soluble corrosion inhibitors featuring best in class corrosion performance at extremely low treat rates. Perfad™ 9000 passes the ASTM 665B test at an amazingly low treat rate of 0.03%. Croda’s corrosion inhibitors draw from many different technology platforms including our lanolin derivative line as can be seen from the incorporation of our Lanfa™ products in Figure 4. (Treat rates are indicated next to the product name).


Figure 4.

Croda continues to work on creating additives for metal working applications that improve tool life and/or extend the life of metalworking fluids.

Croda recently developed Priolube™WSE 3961, our first development of many into the area of additives to deliver improved lubricity into metal stamping and drawing applications. Based on TCT measurements, Priolube™ WSE 3961 provides best-in-class frictional performance on aluminium. (Figure 5)


Figure 5.

Croda is currently developing additives for oil-based systems that will meet or exceed the performance of chlorinated paraffin based systems, which continue to receive close regulatory scrutiny. These materials will be commercially available in late 2010

Achievement of Sustainability Targets
Croda’s goal is to assist our customers in developing solutions to their most challenging formulation targets through our application expertise of incorporating sustainable materials. Croda does not believe there needs to be a trade off between application performance and environmental sustainability. Croda’s technology enables customers to exceed the performance levels of today’s most demanding applications while utilizing sustainable and renewable materials that will enable performance at or above these levels for years to come.