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Layman's Guide to Synthetic Oil
Components of Lubricants!
How are Synthetic Oils Different?
Lubricants are generally composed of two groups of
materials. The first is a base or stock fluid. This
fluid will make up 75-95 percent of the finished
product. The most commonly used stocks today are derived
from petroleum crude oil. Other stocks are derived from
chemical synthesizing. These stocks are also referred to
as mineral or synthetic oils.
To this, base or stock chemical compounds may be added
to enhance or impart new properties to the mineral oil.
These compounds are commonly referred to as additives.
The use of such special chemical compounds is another
way to minimize friction and wear. The main role of
these compounds is to offer protection when the
lubricating fluid can not maintain component separation.
Although the engineering of each synthetic base stock
varies depending on the particular stock, synthetics are
generally made through a reaction process. This reaction
process significantly improves the consistency of the
stock and its molecular uniformity. Mineral stocks, on
the other hand, are obtained through a process of
distillation.
Distillation slightly limits the molecular diversity
that may exist within the stock, but does not completely
eliminate nonessential molecular structures. This is
important because unnecessary molecular structures
produce variations in the stock's performance. The ideal
lubricants chemical composition is one in which the
molecular construction is identical throughout, such as
in a synthetic base stock. Because of the way synthetic
stocks are produced, they are molecularly uniform and
contain significantly less undesirable materials than a
mineral base stock.
Molecular uniformity also affects the properties that
each type of lubricant possesses. The properties of
mineral oils tend to vary due to inconsistencies in the
crude from which they are obtained. The properties and
performance features of synthetics, on the other hand,
are very predictable. Once again, this is due to their
molecular uniformity.
AMSOIL
synthetic lubricants are formulated to take advantage of
the superior properties of synthetic base stocks. They
provide excellent lubrication and wear protection and
have been designed to resist the chemical breakdown
processes that limit the service life of conventional
mineral-based oils.
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