Leading technologies in industrial gear oil additives

Although industrial gear oil additives contain many of the same additives as automotive gear oils, they are actually quite different. Industrial gear oil additives are used across the industrial market in applications with widely ranging variables, including severe exposure to water and dirt contamination. Here are some examples: 

• Wind turbine lubricants require superior micropitting protection, filterability, demulsibility and extended fluid service life.
• Paper mill industry lubricants need to provide long-service life and maintain excellent thermal stability, demulsibility, rust protection and heavy load-carrying characteristics.
• Textile mill lubricants should be non-staining and provide excellent antiwear and extreme pressure (EP) performance and exceptional rust protection.
•  Steel mills require lubricants balanced to provide outstanding demulsibility, resistance to foaming, and strong EP for heavy shock loading protection.
• Mining lubricants must provide a range of options from emulsifiable products to products with good demulsibility, durability and low-temperature characteristics.
• Industrial manufacturing equipment lubricants must satisfy a variety of end-use applications and environments, which translates to exceptional oxidation stability and system cleanliness.
• Forestry equipment lubricants should be non-polluting and non-toxic while providing wide-ranging performance such as non-sludging, long service life, and satisfactory lubrication at extreme temperatures.

Lubrizol meets these varied needs with the broadest, most advanced, and most widely used gear oil additive technologies on the market today. Some of our earliest commercial products were aimed at solving gear-related problems. Today we still have the most experienced people in the industry, providing consistently high-quality products, batch after batch, anywhere in the world. These are products that support the world's industries by improving the operating efficiency of equipment and extending its useful life.

Performance packages

The minimum performance requirements for industrial gear oil additives are heavy-duty EP performance and rust, corrosion and oxidation resistance in the presence of high amounts of water, contaminants and high temperatures. Premium industrial gear oil also provides superior thermal stability and cleanliness. Such top-tier performance will ensure long-term equipment protection through high-temperature EP, longer oil demulsibility, and extended foam inhibition in the presence of water and contaminants. Tackifiers can also be added to gear oil when good holding properties are important.

Oxidation, rust and foam inhibitors used in gear lubricants are generally the same as those used in crankcase lubricants. The quality of antiwear and EP additives are particularly important because they prevent wear on gear teeth, ball and roller bearing parts, and other gearbox components.

Industrial gear oils are highly viscous. Viscosities can range between 220 and 1000. By comparison, passenger car motor oil typically has a viscosity between 30 and 40. In fact, at the top end, industrial gear oils can be almost as thick as asphalt.

Compatibility with a variety of mineral and synthetic base fluids is also important in the development and use of industrial gear oils.

Synthetic formulations

Synthetic industrial gear oils are entering the market. They are expensive, costing up to twice as much as conventional products, but offer some performance advantages. For instance, they offer better oxidative stability and longer life. Because of this they are often used in the harshest environments, such as steel mills, and in outside applications, such as cooling towers, where there are temperature extremes.