Esters: base oils for greases
Lubricating greases are semi-solid to pasty lubricants used to reduce friction and wear between moving metal parts. They form an adhesive lubricating film at the lubrication point, which simultaneously protects against corrosion and contamination. Thanks to their high viscosity, greases adhere significantly better to components than liquid oils. This makes them particularly suitable for long-term lubrication and for applications with high levels of wear.
Greases essentially consist of a base oil, a thickener and various additives that are used to specifically enhance properties such as load-carrying capacity and temperature resistance. Metal soaps are frequently used as thickeners. The base oil is liquid and, at around 65–95%, accounts for the largest proportion of a grease. It forms the basis of the grease and is largely responsible for its performance. Depending on the application, the viscosity range of the base oils extends from 100 to over 1,000 cSt.
Important properties a base oil should exhibit include very good hydrolytic stability, good seal compatibility, a high viscosity index and, depending on the application, good UV stability and ageing stability.
Two main processes are used for the production of lubricating greases: in-situ production and the direct process. In in-situ production, water is generated during the formation of the metal soap in the base oil, which is why predominantly mineral base oils are used. In the direct process, finished metal soaps are used. For this process, our esters are an excellent choice as base oils. By carefully selecting suitable raw materials, very good hydrolytic stability can be achieved. As a result, our esters are suitable not only for the production of high-performance lithium greases, but also for other grease systems such as calcium greases.
Depending on the field of application of the grease, we can recommend different base oils from our LIGALUB product range. Products such as
LIGALUB 23 TMP
LIGALUB L 103 D
LIGALUB L 108 D
LIGALUB L 107 D/2-MB
are often used. Please contact our product manager Nadine Flügel for individual technical advice!
