Synthetics & Blends

Synthetic oil is oil consisting of chemical compounds which were not originally present in crude oil (petroleum) but were artificially made (synthesized) from other compounds. more...

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Synthetic oil could be made to be a substitute for petroleum or specially made to be a substitute for a lubricant oil such as conventional (or mineral) motor oil refined from petroleum. When a synthetic oil or synthetic fuel is made as a substitute for petroleum, it is generally produced because of a shortage of petroleum or because petroleum is too expensive. When synthetic oil is made as a substitute for lubricant refined from petroleum, it is generally to provide superior mechanical and chemical properties than those found in traditional mineral oils.

red oil as a substitute for crude oil (petroleum)

One form of synthetic oil is that manufactured using the Fischer-Tropsch process which converts carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. 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 millions of tons in 1944. It is today used in South Africa to produce most of that country's diesel.

Another form of synthetic oil is that produced at kcmq Syncrude {| class="wikitable" |- ! header 19 ! header 2 ! header 3 |- | row 1, cell 1 | row 1, cell 2 | row 1, cell 3 |- | row 2, cell 1 | row 2, cell 2 | row 2, cell 3 |} sands plant. This huge facility removes highly viscous bitumen from oil sands mined nearby, and uses a variety of processes of hydrogenation to turn it into high-quality synthetic crude oil. The Syncrude plant supplies about 14% of Canada's petroleum output. A similar plant is the smaller nearby facility owned by Suncor.

Synthetic oil as a motor oil

The majority of oil lubricants, including many motor oils, are mineral oil distillates of crude oil. However, synthetic motor oils also have a share in the market. Historically, synthetic motor oils have been made from the following classes of lubricants.

Polyalpha-olefin (PAO) = American Petroleum Institute (API) Group IV base oil; Synthetic esters, etc = API Group V base oils (non-PAO synthetics, including diesters, polyolesters, alklylated napthlenes, alkyklated benzenes, etc.);

In the last decade of the 20th century, hydrocracked and/or isomerized (Group III) base oils began to be used in motor oils. These oils are also designated as "synthetic" in the United States.

Automotive Use History

Although in use in the aerospace industry for some years prior, synthetic oil first became commercially available for automobile engines when the French Oil company MOTUL first introduced commercial ester-based synthetic-oil in 1971. Other early synthetic motor oils included Amsoil, introduced in 1972 (with an ester-based 10W-40 formula developed by Hatco) and Mobil 1, introduced in 1974 (with a PAO-based 5W-20 formula). Modern formulations have however changed. According to MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets) filed by these manufacturers, Amsoil is based on 85% - 95% 1-decene homopolymer base, not ester, and Mobil 1 contains only 5% PAO. Red Line Oil produce ester based synthetics although the percentage content is not determined.

Read more at Wikipedia.org