Multipurpose Ecological Lubricating Greases

Abstract

Lubricants facilitate the effective operation of mechanical equipment, reducing friction and wear, but, in the same time, they are a large and diffuse pollution source, both on soil and in water. Eliminating or reducing the formation of pollutants and waste pollution prevention make an important contribution to environmental protection. Conventional lubricants based on mineral oils contain toxic and non-biodegradable substances. Biodegradable lubricants are technical and environmental alternatives for conventional lubrication. Lubricating greases are considered as colloidal dispersions of a thickener in a lubricating fluid. Their biodegradable properties and their lubricating ability depend on the main components: the base oil, the thickener and the additives. The aim of this work is to find their most suitable composition to produce ecological lubricating greases with good performances and thus using them as multifunctional lubricants.