Synthetic oil

This article is licensed under theGNU Free Documentation License.It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Synthetic oil" (click for full Wikipedia text)

A  'synthetic oil ' is an oil manufactured for enhanced lubrication performance using the Fischer-Tropsch process which converts carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. The carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is generated by partial oxidation of coal and wood-based fuels. This process was developed and used extensively in World War II by Germany, which had limited access to crude oil supplies. Germany's yearly synthetic oil production reached more than 90 million tons in 1944. It is today used in South Africa to produce most of that country's diesel from coal. There are several companies developing the process to enable practical exploitation of so-called stranded gas reserves, those reserves which are impractical to exploit with conventional gas pipelines and LNG technology. The majority of oil lubricants are mineral oils, mixtures of refined fractions of crude oil. Synthetic oils are fabricated by polymerization short chain hydrocarbon molecules into longer single chain hydrocarbons. Their lubrication characteristics can be adjusted by controlling the spectrum of molecular weights that go into the finished formulation, which usually also includes thickeners. Synthetic oil first became commercially available in the mid-1970s. The first company to make synthetic oil available in the United States was Amsoil. http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/synthetic-oil.html

Advantages

The industry recognizes the following benefits for synthetic oils:

• Improved viscosity at low temperatures. Mineral oils tend to include wax impurities which coagulate at lower temperatures. A typical 10W-30 oil remains liquid at -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit)
• Better high temperature performance. Synthetic oils have few low molecular weight hydrocarbons which evaporate at high temperatures.
• Higher purity
• Decreased oil consumption
• Reduced friction and engine wear
• Improved fuel consumption through better engine lubrication
• Longer intervals between oil changes
• Resistance to oil sludge problems
• Crude oil doesn't have to be used for the production of the lubricants
• Some synthetic producers offer extended drain intervals

Disadvantages

The primary disadvantage of synthetic oils is that they cost significantly more than mineral oils. Some manufacturers of synthetic oils, such as Amsoil and Mobil1, however offer extended drain intervals which allows for running the oil by over 7 times the length of conventional petroleum oils. This extended drain interval actually causes synthetics to be more cost effective over the course of 2 to 3 oil changes. Detractors argue that the advantages of synthetic oils are only significant in high performance applications such as motor racing and aviation, road haulage, or for general lubrication in extreme environments. Synthetic oils can cause problems with older seal (mechanical)s which are prone to leakage. As long as the vehicle or equipment in question is in sound mechanical condition then using synthetic oils should not be an issue.

Semi-synthetic oil

A semi-synthetic oil is a blend of mineral oil with no more than 30% synthetic oil. They are designed to provide many of the benefits of synthetic oil without matching the cost of pure synthetic oil.

See also

• Abiogenic petroleum origin
• Fischer-Tropsch process
• Renewable Energy
• Synthetic fuel

External links

• Development of the modern Fischer-Tropsch process (1958-1999)
• Abiogenic Gas Debate 11:2002 (EXPLORER)
  
  This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Synthetic oil" (click for full Wikipedia text) Hide