Lubricants
Lubricant is defined as chemical substance introduced between two moving surfaces to reduce
heat generated due to friction. The process of reducing frictional resistance between moving /
sliding surfaces by introduction of lubricants in between them is known as Lubrication.
Functions of a Lubricant
● It reduces the maintenance of and running cost of the machine as result it enhances the
efficiency of the machine.
● It avoids the seizure of the moving surfaces and increases the durability of the substances.
● It reduces the expansion of metal by local frictional heat.
● It reduces loss of energy in form of heat due to its action as coolant.
● It reduces wearing, tearing and surface deformation of the two substances moving in
contact.
● It, also, sometimes as a seal. For example lubricants used between piston and cylinder
wall of the internal combustion engine acts as a seal thereby preventing the leakage of
gases under high pressure from the cylinder.
Classification of Lubricants
On the basis of physical state, lubricants have been broadly classified into the following types:
1. Liquid lubricants or lubricating oils
2. Semi-solid lubricants or greases
3. Solid lubricants
1. Liquid lubricants or lubricating oils
The lubricants which are in liquid state such as animal and vegetable oils, mineral or petroleum
oils are called lubricating oils. Lubricating oils reduce friction and wear between the two
moving/sliding metallic surfaces by providing a continuous fluid film in between them.
Characteristics of good lubricating oil
● Low freezing point
● Corrosion preventive
● Heat stability
● Adequate viscosity for particular service conditions
● High oxidation resistance
● Stability to decomposition at the operating temperatures
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● Low pressure or high boiling point
● Minimum pour point and cloud point
Types of lubricating oils
● Vegetable and animal oils: The oils of vegetable origin such as castor oil, mustard oil
etc. and the oils of animal origin like whale oil, mutton oil etc are the commonly used
lubricants. They have good oiliness character which is important for the reduction of
friction. However they (i) are costly (ii) undergo oxidation easily forming gummy and
acidic properties and get thickened on coming contact with air (iii) have some tendency
to undergo hydrolysis on exposure in moist air or aqueous medium. Hence at present they
are rarely used as such. They are used as “blending agent” with other lubricating oils like
mineral oils to produce desired effect in the latter.
● Petroleum oils or mineral oils: They are obtained by distillation of petroleum that is
extracted from earth crust. They are the most widely used lubricants because they are (i)
cheap (ii) available in abundance (iii) quite stable under service conditions. However they
possess poor oiliness as compared to that of animal and vegetable oils. The oiliness of
petroleum can be increased by addition of high molecular weight compounds like oleic
acid, stearic acid etc. Crude petroleum oils contains a lot of impurities such as wax,
oxidizable impurities etc. (a dark pigmented oil (tar) which decomposes at high
temperature) causing the deposition of carbon and reduces the efficiency of lubrication of
oils. Thus the impurities of the crude oils have to be thoroughly purified before use. If the
impurities are not removed following ill conditions are to be faced.
(i) The wax if not removed raises the pour point and renders the lubricating oil until
for use at low temperatures.
(ii) (ii) Certain constituents get easily oxidized under working conditions and cause
sludge formation.
(iii) Some constituents, mainly asphalt undergo decomposition at higher temperatures
causing the deposition of carbon and sludge formation.
A number of processes are used to remove these impurities, which are as follows:
● Dewaxing: In this process the impure oil (i. e contaminated with wax) is mixed with a
suitable solvent like propane, trichloro ethylene a mixture of benzene and ethylene
dichloride and then refrigerated. The wax is precipitated out and the precipitate Acid
refining
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● Solvent refining: The oil is mixed with a suitable solvent like nitrobenzene, sulphur
dioxide and benzene etc in which it is immiscible, but the undesirable impurities like
naphthalene, asphaltic and resinous components are highly soluble. After undisturbed
condition for some time the liquid separate into two layers.
(i) ‘Oil layer’ from impurities but containing some solvent and
(ii) ‘Solvent layer’ containing dissolved asphaltic, naphthenic and resinous impurities
The oil layer is distilled to recover solvent leaving behind the refined oil. Similarly
solvent layer is distilled to recover the solvent leaving behind the residue containing
asphaltic, naphthenic and resinous substances and is used as a fuel oil.
● Blended oils or compounded oils: No single oil serves as the most satisfactory lubricant
for many of modern machineries. So the improved lubricating oils are obtained by mixing
special additives into petroleum oil. The petroleum oils mixed with such specific
additives are called blended oils. The specific additives mixed with petroleum oils
produce desired lubricating properties required for a particular working condition. The
commonly applied special additives are as follows:
(i) Oiliness carriers: Oiliness of a lubricant can be increased by adding oiliness
carriers like vegetable oils (viz. coconut oil, castor oil) and fatty acids (viz. palmitic
acid, stearic acid, oleic acid etc.)
(ii) Pour point depressing additives: The additives prevent the separation of wax
from oil are called Pour-point depressing additives .Such additives are phenol and
certain condensation products of chlorinated wax with naphthalene.
(iii) Thickners: They are those additives which are added in order to give lubricating oil
a higher viscosity. The additives are the materials of usually of molecular weight
between 300- 3,000. Examples are polystyrene, polyesters etc.
(iv) Corrosion preventers: They protect metals from corrosion by preventing contact
between metal surface and corrosive substances. They include the organic
compounds of phosphorus and antimony.
(v) Viscosity index improvers: They are those additives added to improve viscosity of
lubricants. They are usually certain high molecular compounds like hexanol.
(vi) Anti-foaming agents: The additives like glycols and glycerols that reduce the formation
of foam.
(vii) Emulsifiers: The additives such as sodium salt of sulphuric acid are used as
emulsifiers.
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(viii)Antioxidants or inhibitors: They are particularly added to the lubricants used in
internal combustion engines, turbines etc where oxidation of oil is a serious problem.
They retard oxidation of oil by getting themselves preferentially oxidized. Such
additives are aromatic phenols or amino compounds.
(ix) Deposit inhibitors: They are the detergents such as the salts of phenol and carboxylic
acids. When such additives are use deposits are formed in internal combustion engine
due to imperfect combustion. The additives disperse and clean the deposits.
(x) Abrasion inhibitors: They include tricresyl phosphate
2. Semi- solid lubricants or greases: The lubricants such as greases and Vaseline are
commonly used semi -solid lubricants.
● Greases: Greases are semi-solid lubricants prepared by dispersion of soaps into liquid
lubricating oil. Greases have higher shear or frictional resistance than oils , so , can
support much heavier loads at lower speeds. They also do not require as much attention
unlike lubricating liquids.
The conditions of using greases are as follows:
(i) In the situation where oil cannot remain in the parts of machine due to high load,
low speed, intermittent operation, sudden jerks etc. For example rail axel boxes.
(ii) In bearing and gears that work at high temperatures.
(iii) When bearing needs to be sealed and screening the entry of dirt and moisture
because greases are less liable to contamination by these.
(iv) In situation when dripping or spurting of oil is undesirable because unlike oils
greases if used do not splash or drip over articles being prepared by the machine.
The main function of soap is thickening agent so that grease sticks firmly to metal
surfaces. However the nature of the soap decides (a) the temperature up to which the
grease can be used.(b) its consistency.(c) its water and oxidation resistance. Hence
greases are classified after the soap used in their manufacture. Important greases are as
follows:
● Calcium based greases or cup -greases: They are emulsions of petroleum oils with
calcium soaps. They are generally prepared by adding requisite amount of calcium
hydroxide to hot oil (like tallow) while under agitation. These greases are cheapest and
most commonly used. They are insoluble in water. They, however, are satisfactorily used
at low temperature because above 80 °C oil and soap begins to separate out.
● Soda – based greases: They are those greases which are petroleum oils thickened by
mixing sodium soaps. They are not water resistant because the sodium soap content is
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soluble in water. However they can be used up to 175 °C. They are suitable for ball
bearings where the lubricant gets heated due to friction.
● Lithium based greases: They are the petroleum oils thickened by mixing lithium soaps.
They are water resistant and suitable for use at low temperature up to 15 °C only.
● Axle greases: They are also called resin greases as they are prepared by adding heavy
metal hydroxide into resin and fatty oils. They are suitable for the equipments working at
heavy loads and low speed. They are also water resistant.
Besides above greases there are greases prepared by dispersing solids like graphite,
soapstone in mineral oil. These are mostly used in rail axle boxes, machine bearings,
tractor rollers, wire ropes etc.
● Vaseline: It is a petroleum jelly which is a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin and
microcrystalline waxes. When these are blended together, a smooth jelly that has a
melting point just above the body temperature is formed. It does not undergo oxidation on
exposure to air and is not readily acted on chemical reagents.
3. Solid lubricants: Solid lubricants or dry lubricants are those which despite being in solid
phase are able to reduce friction between two surfaces sliding against each other without need
for a liquid media. Solid lubricants are used in the following conditions:
● Operating conditions are such that a lubricating film cannot be secured by use of
lubricating oils or greases.
● Contamination (by the entry of dust or grit particles) of lubricating oil or grease is
unacceptable e.g. in commutator brushes of electric generators and motors.
● The operating temperatures or load is too high, even for a semi-solid lubricant to remain
in position and
● Combustible lubricants must be avoided.
The most commonly used solid lubricants are graphite and molybdenum disulphide.
● Graphite:
Graphite acts as lubricant because it is very soapy to touch, non –inflammable and
non-oxidized in air below 375 °C. Furthermore in the absence of air it can be used up to
higher temperature. Graphite is used either in powder form or suspension. When graphite
is dispersed in oil it is called ‘oildag’ and when it is dispersed in water it is called
‘aquadag’. Oildag is found particularly useful in internal combustion engines, because it
forms a film between the piston and rings and cylinder and gives a tight – fit contact
thereby increasing compression. On the other hand oildag is useful where a lubricant free
from oil is needed e.g foodstuff industry. Graphite is also mixed with greases to from
graphite- greases which are used at still higher temperature.
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Usually some organic substances are mixed with solid lubricants so that they may stick
firmly to the metal surface. Solid lubricants are use either in the dry powder form or
mixed with water or oil. The solids full up the low spots in the surface of moving parts
and form solid films which have low frictional resistance .The usual coefficient of
friction between solid lubricants between 0.005 and 0.01
Application of Graphite as Lubricant:
● As it is a good conductor of electricity it is found best lubricant in commutator brushes in
electric generator.
● Since a liquid lubricant allows particles to get stuck in the lock worsening the problem, it
is very common for lubricating locks.
● It is commonly employed lubricant in food stuff industry, air-compressors, chains etc.
● Oildag is particularly used as lubricant in combustion engine as it forms a film between
piston and cylinder to give tight fitting.
● Natural graphite is commonly used as a lubricant for refactories, steelmaking, expanded
graphite, brake linings and foundry facing lubricants.
Molybdenum disulphide:
Molybdenum disulphide has a sandwich –like structure as shown in Figure 2 in which a
layer of Mo atoms lies between two layers of s atoms. Poor interlaminar attraction is
responsible for low shear strength in a direction parallel to the layers.
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Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) possesses very low coefficient of friction and is stable in air up
to 400 °C. Its fine powder may be sprinkled on surfaces sliding at high velocities when it fills low
spots in metal surfaces forming its film. It is also used along with solvents and in greases.
Applications of Molybdenum sulphide
● It is used as good lubricant at higher temperature condition as it is stable at in air up
to 400 °C. Hence it is generally used in two –stroke engines e.g. motorbikes.
● It is also used in space vehicles
● It is used in the suspension form over the metallic surfaces.
● Molybdenum disulphide in fine powder form is used on the surfaces sliding at high
velocities,
During the Vietnam War the molybdenum disulphide product ‘Dri-slide ‘was used to
lubricate weapons, although it was supplied from private sources not the military.
● Mo-S2 coatings are used in rifles since the coatings allow bullets easier passage
thorough rifle barrel causing less barrel fouling allowing the barrel to retain ballistic
accuracy much longer.
Besides these more important graphite and molybdenum disulphide other substances like
soapstone, tale, mica etc, are also used as solid lubricants.
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Synthetic lubricants
The lubricants synthesized for the application at abnormal conditions like extremely high
temperature, chemically reactive atmosphere etc by employing certain additives are called
synthesized lubricants. However synthetic lubricants have been developed which alone can
meet drastic and severe conditions such as those existing in aircraft engine in which the same
lubricant may have to be used in the temperature range of – 50 °C and 250 °C. Such a
lubricant should possess low freezing point, high viscosity index and also should be
inflammable.
Modern synthetic lubricants generally possess the following distinguishing characteristics:
● High viscosity index
● High flash points
● High thermal stability at high operating temperatures.
● Chemical stability
● Non- inflammable
Important synthetic lubricants are given as follows:
(i) Polymerized hydrocarbons like polypropylene, polybutylene in the molecular weight
range of 500 – 50,000 are residue free, light in color, free from non - hydrocarbon, chemically
non-reactive and high temperature lubricants.
(ii) Organic amines, imines and amides are good synthetic lubricants since they have low
pour point and high viscosity index. They can be used under temperature conditions of – 50°C
to 250°C.
(iii) Silicones: they are very good synthetic lubricants since they are not oxidized below 200
°C and possess high viscosity index. They are frequently used for low temperature lubrication
purposes. It may be pointed out that silicones are oxidized quickly above 200°C and undergo
cracking process at about 230°C, so they are not employed for high temperature applications.
Fluorocarbons: They are not decomposed by heat, not easily oxidisable and chemically inert
and resistant to chemicals, except molten sodium.
(iv) Polyglycols and related compounds: The compounds like polyethylene glycol,
polyglycidyl ethers and higher polyalkylene oxides can be used as water soluble and water
insoluble lubricants in rubber bearings and joints. Polyglycidyl ethers and higher polyalkylene
oxides are water – insoluble but they can absorb a considerable amount of water. They have
high viscosity index and are used in roller bearings of sheet glass manufacturing machines.
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