Synthetic Motor Oil
The synthetic motor oil is composed of synthesized or artificially made chemical substances those are not present in the crude oil or petroleum. The synthetic motor oil may be produced as an alternative of petroleum, or especially made as an alternative of lubricant oil, like the usual motor oil cultured from petroleum.
When synthetic fuel or synthetic oil is produced as an alternative of petroleum, it is usually created because of the scarcity of petroleum or due to the high price of petroleum. When the synthetic oil is utilized as an alternative of lubricant, it provides better chemical and mechanical features than the conventional mineral oils.
Synthetic oil manufactured through the Fischer-Tropsch process converts carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane into various form of liquid hydrocarbons. This process was developed around World War II by the German scientist to enhance fuel efficiency. In another process of producing synthetic motor oil the highly viscous bitumen is removed from the oil sands. Subsequently it is turned into high-class synthetic crude oil by using multiple procedures of hydrogenation.
Hundred percent synthesized Polyalphaolefins-based lubricants first appeared in the market as an alternative to the mineral oils for lubricating engines in the year 1960 by a U.S.-based company. Though the aerospace industry started using synthetic oil prior to that, synthetic oils were considered for commercial use only after the official standardizations of synthetic lubricants. A commercially accessible formula was approved by American Petroleum Institute (API) for the automobile engines.
Synthetic motor oil derived from diesters or the dibasic acide esters and polyol esters came in the market in 1970. It was one of the initial synthetic motor oils. The synthetic motor oils are now being prepared from various classes of lubricants like the Polyalphaolefin (PAO), Hydrocracked/Hydroisomerized, and synthetic esters.
The synthetic motor oil derived from the Polyalphaolefin is standardized as API Group IV base oil, whereas the API Group V base oils are derived from synthetic esters like the polyolesters, diesters, alkyklated benzenes, and alklylated napthlenes, etc. API Group III base oils are refined from Hydrocracked/Hydroisomerized.
The synthetic motor oils offer various technical advantages. It shows enhanced chemical stability and reduced evaporative loss. Synthetic motor oils are resistant to thermal breakdown, oil sludge problems, and oxidation. Synthetic oils offer impressive chemical stability and shear strength performance. It has a natural resistance against oxidation that makes it better performing for a long time. It also shows enhanced viscosity performance in high and low temperatures and in winter offers better lubrication. In some particular engine configurations it improves fuel economy.
The initial cost of the synthetic motor oils may be higher than the petroleum-based oils, but the extension in the change intervals in the long makes it cost effective and it can be confirmed through the used oil analysis (UOA).