7.
4 Classification of Lubricants
On the basis of their physical state, lubricants can be broadly classified into the following.
1. Liquid lubricants or lubricating oils
2. Semi-solid lubricants or greases
3. Solid lubricants
Liquid lubricants or lubricating oils
Liquid lubricants reduce friction and wear and tear between two metal surfaces by providing a
continuous layer between them. They also act as a cooling medium, prevent corrosion and act as a
sealing agent. Liquid lubricants can be further subdivided into three types.
(i) Animal and vegetable oils
(ii) Mineral oils or petroleum oils
(iii) Blended oil, doped oils or compound oils
(i) Animal and vegetable oils These are extracted from animal and vegetable matter and
contain glycerides of higher fatty acids. They are known for their 'oiliness', a property by
which they stick to the metal surface even under high temperature and high load. However,
they have certain limitations. They are expensive; undergo oxidation to form gummy and
acidic products; they oxidize in contact with air and become thick; and they hydrolyze in the
presence of moisture in air. They are rarely used for lubrication these days because of these
limitations. Rather, they are used as blending agents in mineral oils to improve the oiliness of
the latter.
The commonly used animal and vegetable oils are olive oil, mustard oil, castor oil, palm
oil, rapeseed oil, whale oil etc.
(ii) M
ineraJ oils or petroleum oils These oils are obtained by the fractional
cru~e p~trole_um. On being subjected to vacuum distillation, the heavy residuaJ & ·
lubncat1ng 011. The hydrocarbon chain is 12 to 50 carbon atoms long. Th &ct1~
as lubric~nts because they are cheap, abundant and stable under working co~: 1'idd;'l!li
n?_t rea~1I~ hydrolyzed. However, they have poor oiliness as compared to vegetabl:· -~aie
... oiliness 1s increased by blending them with vegetable oils. on,,~
(ui) Blended oils Blended oils are termed as doped oils or compounded oils. No .
serve a~ a satisfactory lubricant under all conditions. Hence, their properties :::~e
0il taJ)
by adding certain additives. This phenomenon is called 'blending'. The differ Ultpr<>lrecf
employed are as follows. ent addirn,'3
(a) Antioxidants or inhibitors They retard the oxidation of lubricating oils b .
themselves preferentially oxidized. Antioxidants are added in lubricants used i:. getting
com 6ust10n
. engmes.
. Examp1es inc1ude aromatic . pheno11c
· or ammo
. [Link]
(b) _Oiliness carriers They increase the oiliness of the lubricant. These carriers are ad
1n lubricants used in boundary lubrication. Examples include vegetable oils like ded
oil, mustard oil and fatty acids like oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, etc. castor
(c) Viscosity index improvers They increase the viscosity index and are added in lubricants
used in machines working under a broad temperature range. Example includes hexano.I
(d) Pour point depressants They reduce the pour point of the oil. Examples include
alkylated naphthalene, phenolic polymers and polymethacrylates.
(e) Detergents and dejlocculents They neutralize sludge and varnish precursors and keep
the surface deposit free by maintaining them in soluble form. Examples include calcium
and barium salts of phosphates and sulphonates.
(f) Dispersants They prevent and retard sludge formation. Dispersants are added in
lubricating oils used in internal combustion engines. Examples include high molecular
weight amides and amide polymers.
(g) Metal deactivators They stop the catalytic effect of metals on the oxidation states.
Examples include amines, sulphides or phosphides.
(h) Antifoaming agents They prevent the formation of stable foams. Examples include
glycol, glycerol and silicon polymers.
(i) Rust and co-rrosion inhibitors They protect the metal from corrosion, for example,
organometallic compounds, metal phenolates, basic metal sulphonates, fatty acids and
ammcs.
(j) Extremepressure additives They enable the lubricant to function under the conditions
of high ttmperaturc and pressure, for example, sulphurized fats, phosphorus compou nds,
etc.
. Jjd Jubricants
5efJJ1'so
are the most common examples of . .
Gre;15es·ng a t h'ickenmg
.
agent. The thicken
sem1-sohd lubr·
d" icants.
Th
ey are oils made scm;-solid
addl ers ispersed . h I b. "
by Jloidal structure or gel. In fact grease . m t e u r1cating oil produce a stable
d co h' k , s contain three b . . .
Jtl Jd'tive and t 1c eners (Table 7.1) Th· k asic active mgrcdients--a lubricating
·1 a I • IC eners are . I .
oi, . t barium, etc. Non soap thickeners like b b mam y special soaps of lithium, sodium,
calc100 ' car on lack, clay, asphaltencs and siloxane are also
0 sed,
1 Basic ingredients of grease
l 7
fab e::•:::it-rThkk;---------r----------
·t Thickener
Lubricating oi Additive
Pcrroleum oil Soap of Li, Na, Ba, Ca, Al
Antiwear, antioxidant, rust and
polyglycols corrosion resistant, viscosity index
Polyalpha olefins Non-soap (inorganics) day, graphite, SI•1·1ca,
improver, pour point depressers,
Vegerable oils carbon 61ack extreme pressure additives, etc
Preparation of greases
Greases are prepared by the [Link] of fat (such as tallow or fatty acid) with alkali (NaOH,
Ca (OH)2, etc) followed by th e addition of hot lubricating oil with constant stirring
base agitate with
fatty acid saponificarion soap hot oil grease
The consistency of the grease depends upon the quantity of oil added. Mineral oil plays an
important role in determining the performance of the grease. T h e nature of soap used decides the
consistency of the grease, the temperature up to which it can be used and its resistance to water
and oxidation. Greases are classified on the basis of the soap used in their m anufacture (Table 7 .2).
Table 7.2 Classification of greases
Type of grease Chemical composition Characteristic properties
Calcium base greases Emulsions of petroleum oils with Insoluble in water hence water resistant. Since
calcium soaps oil and soap separate above 80°C, these greases
are used up to 80°C. They are suitable for water
pumps, tractors, etc.
Soda based greases Petroleum oils, thickened by Not water resistant because sodium content of
mixing sodium soap soap is soluble in water; they can be used up to
l 75°C; they are suitable for use in ball bearings
where the lubricants gets heated due to friction.
Lithium based greases Petroleum oil thickened by mixing Water resistant but can be used up to 15°C only.
lithium soap They are expensive.
-
Axle greases Resin and fatty oils mixed with Water resistant, cheapest of all greases; they find
lime or any heavy metal hydroxide use l"n equipments working under high loads and
(talc and mica are added as fillers) low speeds.
·- bearings,
[Link] greases Mineral oil with solids like Used tn rail axle boxes, machine
- graphite, carbon black, soapstone tractors, rollers etc.
Applications
1. Greases are generally used in textile mills, paper mills and mills ~£.edible articles \'Vh
liquid lubricants can cause contamination of the products by spillmg or dripping. etc
2. Machines like rail axle boxes work at slow speed and high pressure, [Link]
. ' .. 1 OJ>et •
and sudden jerks. In such conditions, oil cannot remam m its P ace.
3. In bearing and gears working at high temperatures.
4. U sed in bearings which need to be sealed against the entry of dust, grit and .moisture.
However there are certain limitations of greases. These are as follows.
1. T h eir coefficient of friction is much higher than that of lubriqting oils, therefore, wh
ere\'er
possible lubricating oils are preferred over greases.
2. Compared to lubricating oils, greases cannot dissipate heat effectively from the bearing.
3. Greases cannot be used in the presence of water because the fi?re structure of the thickners is
adversely affected by water and the grease undergoes degradanon.
Solid lubricants
Solid lubricants are used in places where liquid and semi-liquid lubricants fail to give satisfactory
results. They offer lubrication at
• Very high temperatures and pressure where other lubricants fail to stay in their position.
• Solid lubricants like MoS2 are used in vacuum where liquid and semi-solid lubricants are
ineffective.
• Solid lubricants are used in industries where entry of d ust is not acceptable.
The most common solid lubricants are graphite and molybdenum disulphide. Their lubrication
properties are due to their layered or lamellar structures. The layers are held together by weak van
der Waals forces and hence can easily slip over each other.
(i) [Link] Graphite consists of a stack of carbon atom sheets, each sheet containing a
hexagonal arrangement of atoms. Each carbon is sp 2 hybridized. T he adjacent layers are
separated by a distance of 3.4 A and are held together by weak van der Waals forces. Hence,
graphite is soapy, slippery by nature. It is non-inflammable and is not oxidized in air below
375°C. Graphite is used either as a powder or as a suspension or as grease. In dry form, it is
an effective lubricant additive because of its lamellar structure. The 1amellas orient parallel to
the surface in the direction of motion. It can also be used as a suspension with oil or water.
Its suspe~si~n in oil is called :oildag'. (dag meaning deflocculated adhesion graphite). Oildag
finds use m mtern~J combust10n ~ngmes because it provides a tight fit contact by forming ,a
Alm between the piston and the nngs. Suspension of graphite with water is called 'aquadag ·
!tis pr~padred using tannin as an emulsifying agent. Aquadag is used where oil free lubricant
1s require .
Graphite is best suited for lubrication in air W
. . . .
. •a1 c raphire
• ater vapour 1s essen t1 ror g
Jubncat10n. Water 1s adsorbed; 1t reduces bondi b h h al J nes of
h . G h" ng energy etween t e exagon p a
grap tee. Jrap Jte cannot be used in vacuum be
£'. c .
. d l b · re (for
cause it nee s water vapour to u nca
ngure rerer solid state chemistry Fig. 9.29).
Lubricants • 409
Applications _ _Graphite is commonly used in air compressors, food industry, ball bearings,
railway crack Jomes, etc.
(ii) Molybdenum disulphide (M0S2) It has a sandwich like structure in which the molybden~m
acorns lie between two layers of sulphur atoms (Figure 7.5). MoS 2 has low shear strength ~n a
direction parallel to the layers due to poor interlarninar attraction. Hence, it has low coefficient
of friction. le is stable in air up to 400-C. MoS has excellent adhesion, high load carrying
2
capacity, protection against corrosion. However, it cannot be used in wet environment as
moisture increases friction. MoS 2 is an excellent lubricant in vacuum. Hence, it finds use in
space vehicles. A solid film lubricating surface useful for space vehicles is made from 70%
MoS + 7% graphite bonded with 23% silicates. It can withstand extreme temperatures, low
2
pressure and nuclear radiations.
-
s '\",;
- = --- -- -- ,,- -
,,----_
~ -- / = / / ✓
'\ ----
-
- - --,, -
✓ /
Mo ,; 7"'--
✓
✓ ✓ ✓
:;;;
s '\. ,;
-- / -
7
s ✓
-:;:
/
- ,,
/
--- /
✓
✓
-
✓
,;
Mo '\" ,, ,,
I
- /
-
.;;;;:
✓
✓
s ,1,,,
✓ /
.,,
-- ✓ ~ / ... ---.,, ✓
~
.,, ✓
~ ✓
Figure 7.S Sandwich like structure of MoS2
Besides graphite and MoS 2, other common solid lubricants are soapstone, talc, mica,
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), hexagonal boron nitride (called white graphite and used in space
vehicles), etc.
