What are Lubriants?

A lubricant is generally a fluid material with the primary function of reducing friction between surfaces in contact. Lubricant minimizes energy loss generated from friction; at the same time; it can also be very useful to clean, cool and prevent metal parts from corrosion and rust and many such challenges a machines faces during its operation

As an example, Engine oil is a specific type of lubricant that is develops for application in engines. A good quality engine oil is very essential for the appropriate working of an engine; this helps to operate engine efficiently, prevents from damages and helps in extending the life of the engine.

What is a Lubricant composed of?

A lubricant is composed of two substances: Base Oils and Additives. Base oils make-up most of the volume of a lubricant and can either be made of a mineral oil or of a synthetic oil. Mineral base oil can be obtained from a distilling process while refining crude oil, and Synthetic base oils are made by further refining of mineral base oil through laboratory treatments, and few synthetic base oils are manufactured. Base oil can be divided in to four groups, usually depending on the purity level of that oil. The Group-I and Group-II are Mineral Base Oils, Group-III is known as Synthetic Base Oil, other base oils fall under Group-IV category.

Additives which from anywhere between 10-30% of the lubricant’s composition are required to enhance or add desirable properties to the base oil, such as reducing friction, improving viscosity index, managing deposits and sludge through detergents-dispersants additives etc.