Lubricant additives are inorganic or organic compounds suspended or dissolved in oil as solids. They range between 0.1 to 30% of the oil volume, depending on where you want to use the lubricant. Additives have three primary roles to ensure your lubricant works best.
- Using corrosion inhibitors, antioxidants, demulsifying agents, and anti-foam agents to improve existing base oil properties
- Suppressing less useful base oil properties using viscosity index improvers and pour-point depressants
- Adding new properties to the base oil using detergents, extreme pressure additives, thickness agents, and metal deactivators
Before buying lubricant additive packages, ensure you understand the different types and their best usage.
Anti-wear agents
These help reduce wear and friction. They also prevent seizure and scoring. The primary compounds include organic phosphates, zinc dithiophosphates, acid phosphates, chlorine compounds, organic sulfur, sulfides, sulfurized fats, and disulfides.
Corrosion and rust inhibitors
They prevent rusting and corrosion of metal parts. Standard compounds include basic metal sulfonates, metal phenolates, zinc dithiophosphates, and fatty acids.
Detergents
They help keep deposits off surfaces and neutralize corrosive acids. They are made using phosphates, sulfonates, magnesium and calcium phenolates, and metallo-organic barium compounds.
Dispersants
These maintain insoluble soot dispersed inside the lubricant. Primary compounds include polar organic complexes with nitrogen compounds, plus polymeric alkylsuccinimides and alkylthiophosphonates.
Friction modifiers
These additives alter the friction coefficients. They are made of organic animes and fatty acids, phosphoric acid esters, and lard oil.
Extreme-pressure additives
These additives create chemical reactions with iron surfaces to create a surface film that prevents seizure and welding opposing asperities created by meta-to-metal contact.
Viscosity index improvers
They reduce the viscosity change rates with temperature, preventing the oil from thinning out with high temperatures. Their components are methacrylate co-polymers and polymers, alkylated styrenes, and butadiene olefins.
Italmatch Chemicals prides itself in making industry-leading lubricant additive packages in Cleveland, OH, through its Lubricant Performance Additives Division. Learn more about the organization and place online orders at Lubeperformanceadditives.com.
