PAO oils or motor oils made on the basis of the synthesis of associated oil gases, belong to the category of classical synthetics. They came to civilian use from aviation, because it is not too warm upstairs under the dome of the sky, although a little closer to the sun. Therefore, it was required that lubricants not only withstand loads, but also not freeze at high altitude. For this, PAO base or PolyAlphaOlefin base oil is the best.
PAO base has great advantages over mineral based oils. It withstands huge loads, high speeds, fuel ingress with virtually no deterioration in oil quality, retains all its main technical parameters for a very long time, and perfectly withstands thermal loads. But to all the advantages there is always some kind of drawback, with all its wonderful properties, the PAO base is practically unable to dissolve additives in itself. To dissolve additives in PAO oils, a mineral base is used, with which the additive complex mixes perfectly. So there are no PAO oils in the world that consist only of synthetics, in any case, what percentage of the mineral base is present.
Another unpleasant property of PAO base oils or oils of the 4th group is low polarity or almost its absence. That is, PAO oil molecules do not “stick” to metal surfaces and, after turning off, can easily tend to drain into the crankcase. Also, they do not treat rubber seals in the form of seals and gaskets very well. To combat this phenomenon, special substances are used that give a certain polarity to the oil molecules, strengthening the film and giving the properties of “sticking” to the metal. As a rule, representatives of the 5th group of base oils, the so-called esters or esters. Esters, even in small quantities, significantly affect the properties of PAO base oil and relieve it of the above disadvantages. Today, many manufacturers are switching to alkaline naphthalenes. In fact, they, like esters, relieve the PAO base oil of the shortcomings, but this is a more modern generation of additives. Thus, a classic synthetic oil is an oil whose base contains a large percentage of PAO base oil.
But synthetics are now called not only motor oil made on a PAO basis, but also oil made from crude oil by deep refining and chemical catalysis. This is a derivative of HC synthesis - Hydrocracked motor oil. Hydrocracked automotive oil is distinguished, firstly, by a lower price, and secondly, by its advantages and disadvantages, which, like in PAO oils, are a mirror image of the advantages. In fact, hydrocracking has long been attributed to highly refined mineral oils, and this is true, because it is made from a mineral base.
But in 1999, a historic event occurred in the form of an American court decision in the Exxon Mobil lawsuit against Castrol. For those who did not know, but I think most of them, I will explain. Castrol began to write the word “Synthetic” on his canisters of hydrocracked oils, which caused indignation among Mobil specialists. There was a famous confrontation between two worthy manufacturers. The court decision surprised many and, in fact, brought historic changes to the lubricants market. In a loose translation, it said that the inscription on the canister "Synthetics" is a marketing issue, and not a technical description of the product at all. After this decision, the star of Hydrocracking rose in the synthetics market. A number of companies began to refer to hydrocracked base oil refining products as synthetics. Well, since the production technology is more inexpensive than the process of synthesis from gas, the price of such a product has become huge. competitive advantage, before classical synthetics on PAO. The lubricants market was filled with canisters labeled "Full Synthteic", "100% Synthetic", "Synthetic", which in their composition were a mixture of the 3rd group of hydrocracked base oils and the second or first group of mineral oils, but formally it was synthetics. If I'm not mistaken, then according to our standard, 37% hydrocracked oil is enough for the product to be called synthetic. In general, hydrocracking oils have come close in their properties to PAO oils and, in fact, can already be safely called synthetics, but there are a number of technical features due to which PAO base oils will remain an unattainable level for a hydrocracking base, at least at this level of technical development of the chemical industry.
So, we know that synthetic automotive oil can be called both classic PAO oil and products made from petroleum or hydrocracked oil. Recently, another new - old technology has come into the synthetics cohort, namely GTL or Gas to Liquid. GTL base oils are products made by synthesizing natural gases. Despite the fact that it is made from gas, according to the international classification, it still belongs to the 3rd group of base oils and has the designation VHVI +. Motor oils based on GTL base oil are essentially a compromise in all respects between the advantages of PAO and hydrocracked base oils. GTL technology managed to absorb most of the advantages of PAO and hydrocracking and practically avoid their disadvantages. The GTL technology itself has been known for a long time, for example, during the Second World War, German chemists used it to make synthesized fuel for military equipment, essentially from improvised materials. But this technology was quite expensive to use and did not receive widespread use until recently. The Shell concern and its “daughter” Pennzoil can rightly be considered a pioneer in the global market. Having run in the American market and improved the formulations, Shell built a huge plant in Qatar with a capacity of more than a million barrels of GTL oil per year, which allows not only to cover its own needs for this group of oils, but also to sell to third-party manufacturers. And the price of the base itself has become more democratic, which allows it to be used without fear of a significant increase in the retail price of the finished product.
How to be a simple car enthusiast when choosing synthetics? It all depends on the operating conditions. In most cases, with the right selection for viscosity and tolerances, you can limit yourself to “budget”, but high-quality hydrocracking synthetics. If your car has to work in conditions that most would call harsh or extreme, then the choice is definitely for PAO synthetics or GTL-based automotive oils.
From natural gas. According to the head of the company, this made it possible to produce lubricants resistant to extreme loads. highest quality with a longer service life.
Why you need engine oil from gas
Oil reserves on Earth are limited. That's why oil companies invest heavily in the development of new technologies for the production of fuels and lubricants. Thus, Shell's annual investments exceed $1 billion. Work on the synthesis of liquid products from gas (GTL technology) has been carried out since the 70s of the last century.
In 1980, a working catalytic gas treatment plant was established in Amsterdam. Then it became clear that the appearance of a commercial product is only a matter of time. And in 2012, a plant producing oil from gas using Shell Pure Plus technology was put into operation in Qatar. Over 3,500 patents have been registered for this enterprise.
How oil is made from gas
Methane and oxygen are supplied to the GTL equipment (Gas To Liquid - gas to liquid). At this stage, there is a big plus - the gas does not have impurities contained in crude oil. After that, the mixture enters the reactor, where liquid hydrocarbons are synthesized.
Further, by analogy with petroleum products, the semi-finished product enters the hydrocracking column, which separates it into fractions. By changing the composition of the base, you can "program" the properties of future products - from base motor oil to raw materials for the manufacture of plastics or cosmetics.
For the consumer, the high stability of the resulting material means a long service life and a high degree of engine protection. The novelty has been tested in Formula 1 engines, where the loads on friction pairs are maximum. So it turned out a unique product, called.
Advantages of oil from gas
Cooperation with Ferrari made it possible to test new oils at maximum speeds from 12.5 to 18 thousand per minute (a conventional “civilian” piston engine rarely develops up to 6500, and RPD - 9500 rpm). The new oils were the first to be used in the internal combustion engines of Ferrari and Mazerati. Moreover, if in the royal races the motor must take care of at least 300 km, then for cars, albeit exclusive ones, but participating in road traffic, the service interval is much longer.
The researchers dismantled the motor, passed 100,000 kilometers with new oil. The bottoms of the pistons, cylinder head and crankcase did not have the resinous deposits characteristic of conventional "petroleum" oils. This is another "plus" in the GTL piggy bank.
Oil from gas in your engine
If you follow high technology, use the car to the limit of its capabilities, then Shell Helix Ultra- This is your choice. Strong molecular chains maintain a stable oil film on moving parts (oil wedge) at the highest speeds and temperature loads. This keeps the engine clean inside. And when switching to Ultra from other lubricants, wear products are washed out after the first or second replacement.
To date, "" is the only manufacturer of engine oil from gas. But it is possible that in the near future a response from competitors - leading oil companies - will appear on the shelves.
A vigorous motor and high-quality oil!
Is it possible to turn a pig into a crucian, that is, natural gas into motor oil? I saw it happen - in the head technology center Shell group in Amsterdam.
Getting oil and fuel not from oil was invented a long time ago, but the foundations of the current industrial technology GTL (Gas-To-Liquid, "gas to liquid") was founded in 1925 by German chemists Fischer and Tropsch from the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Oil-poor Germany was then preparing for the next war, and in search of a source of fuel, the Germans figured out how to industrial scale to receive liquid hydrocarbons from coal. It was heated, by passing water vapor, synthesis gas was obtained from it, and then hydrocarbons.
The first industrial reactor was launched by the Germans in 1935, and by the end of World War II, seventeen factories in Germany were producing up to seven million tons of "gas products" - more than half of the Wehrmacht's ground equipment and almost all of the Luftwaffe aviation moved on synthetic fuel. From coal, the Germans made oils, lubricants, and even synthetic soap and margarine. It is curious that after the war in the USSR, eight factories were taken out of Germany, but only two German installations were launched - in Novocherkassk and Angarsk, which quietly died in the Bose in the early nineties.
0 / 0
The Allies approached the matter more prudently - after the war, German scientists continued to work on synthetic fuels at the US Bureau of Mines, and today the Fischer-Tropsch technology, mainly for fuel production, is used by Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, BP.
But the Royal Dutch Shell concern furnishes everyone - its range now includes not only fuel, but also Shell Helix Ultra engine oil with a base obtained without a single drop of oil - using PurePlus technology using the GTL process.
The Dutch were more serious than others in the search for alternative raw materials back in 1973, when, due to the war between Israel, Egypt and Syria, OPEC countries imposed an embargo on oil supplies to the United States, which doubled the price of oil in one day, and quadrupled within a year. In 1983, a pilot plant was already operating at the head research center in Amsterdam, and in 1993 Shell opened a gas-powered local field large enterprise in Malaysian Bintulu. And in 2012, after gaining access to offshore wells in the world's second largest natural gas field and investing $20 billion, Shell launched the Pearl GTL megaplant in Qatar.
Having worked 100 thousand kilometers on Shell oil with a PurePlus base, the 1.8 engine of the test Mercedes C-class has a minimum of wear and deposits
GTL synthetics come out inexpensive: at current oil and gas prices, the cost is not higher than petroleum hydrocracked mineral oils. And much lower than that of synthetic oils based on polyalphaolefins (PAO) and even more expensive esters, that is, polyesters.
Are GTL oils good? According to the Dutch, in terms of low-temperature qualities, they are no worse than oils based on PAO and polyesters. Shell labs are currently testing 0W-16 "gas oil" and working on 0W-10 - in both cases the pour point is below -50°C.
The purest GTL synthetics are colorless and almost odorless.
in addition to motor oils, it is used in Nivea, Olaz and Shiseido cosmetics
0 / 0
Lubricating properties - at the level of polyesters and much higher than that of PAO. Better than PAO, and the ability to dissolve additives. There is no main drawback of polyesters - hygroscopicity, that is, the tendency to absorb water, which worsens lubricating and anti-corrosion properties. And, of course, the synthetic base resists oxidation well and evaporates poorly - that is, the oil on the GTL base should have a relatively low waste.
What about disadvantages? The main one, like PAO, is low polarity: the oil does not “hold” the metal well and quickly drains from the cylinder walls into the crankcase, which is especially unpleasant when starting in cold weather. But, like PAO, this is “cured” by the addition of polar alkylated naphthalenes.
Since April, Shell Helix Ultra has been produced exclusively on the PurePlus "gas" base. By the end of the year, the Shell Advance motorcycle series of oils will also switch to the base obtained using the GTL technology, and then “gas oil” in one quantity or another will be included in the bases of the entire line of Shell motor oils, including those produced in Russian Torzhok.
I wonder if other petrochemical giants will follow the example of the Dutch - and how will this affect world oil prices?
Contrary to the name of the technology, the first thing that is obtained from the gas is not a liquid, but a solid substance - snow-white and almost odorless paraffin. First, the initial methane separated from natural gas is partially burned, turning into synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) and hydrogen. And then in the reactor in the presence of a catalyst containing precious metals (the formula of the catalyst is the main secret of the process!) From the synthesis gas, the purest, without any impurities, molten paraffin (sincrude, "synthesis oil") is obtained. Next - isomerization, that is, the usual hydrocracking, like in petrochemists: long chains of paraffin molecules are "cut" to the desired size - and naphtha (straight-run gasoline), diesel fuel or oil are obtained
As you know, automotive oils are classified not only by viscosity, the presence and level of various additives, but also by chemical composition. According to this classification, mineral, semi-synthetic and synthetic oils are distinguished.
Base oils based on which the final product is made are divided into several groups:
First group- regular mineral oil obtained from heavy fractions of oil using various solvents.
Second group- which have undergone a processing procedure, due to this, the stability of the base oil has been increased, it becomes less harmful impurities. Mineral oils of this group are used for older engines. cars, for freight transport, large industrial and marine engines when an inexpensive lubricant is required.
Third group- oils obtained through the process of hydrocracking. Hydrocracking- this is the name of the technology by which the mineral base is cleaned of impurities and driven to break long hydrocarbon chains and saturated with hydrogen molecules. When applying this method, the oil base is modified at the molecular level in such a way that the composition becomes something between natural and synthesized. This relatively recently appeared type of oil has its positive qualities: firstly, its cost will be lower than that of PAO synthetics, and secondly, its quality will be incomparably better than that of mineral compounds. Initially, these oils were classified as deeply refined mineral oils or semi-synthetics (according to some manufacturers). But in 1999, there was a precedent when Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit against Castrol, whose canisters of hydrocracked oil were labeled "Synthetic". The court decision was unexpected for many - the court decided that the inscription "Synthetic" is a marketing ploy, and not technical description goods. After this decision, many manufacturers began to write "Synthetic" on their hydrocracked oil cans. Since the production technology of group 3 oils is much cheaper than the production of classic synthetics at PAO, these oils have gained immense popularity, especially in the light of the decision of the American court.
Fourth group- fully synthetic These oils are produced by the synthesis of butylene and ethylene petroleum gases. This technology makes it possible to obtain an almost ideal composition of hydrocarbon molecules, therefore oils based on them have unique properties - they are able to withstand huge loads, high speeds, high temperatures, fuel ingress, without harm to quality, while they are more durable and stable. Hydrocracked oils can approach PAO in many respects, but they cannot maintain these advanced characteristics for a long time.
The main disadvantages of PAO oils are the high price, the inability to dissolve additives in themselves and non-polarity, i.e. PAO compounds do not remain on the surface. To dissolve additives in PAO oils, a mineral base is added, and to eliminate non-polarity - Esters - group 5 oils.
It is often difficult to distinguish PAO oils from hydrocracking, because on both canisters you can see the inscription "Synthetics". Only for oils sold in Germany, manufacturers are required to indicate on the can "HC - synthesis" for hydrocracking or "synthetics" for PAO oils. There are indirect signs by which you can determine the presence of PAO in the oil. This is the flash point - for PAO oils it can be 240 °C and higher, when for hydrocracking it is less than 225 °C. The same applies to pour points below -45°C for PAO and above 38°C for hydrocracking. But all these are only indirect signs, of course it is impossible to determine from them with a 100% probability that we have a PAO base or hydrocracking.
Fifth group– esters, esters, complex alcohols. For the production of commercial oils, esters are used - synthetic compounds obtained from vegetable raw materials. Esters are polar, so they stay on metal surfaces and reduce wear. They are used in conjunction with oils of the previous 4th group, obtaining a fully synthetic product that takes all the advantages of PAO oils and Esters. With a very stable molecular structure, these oils can achieve desired performance with a low amount of additives, which is very good for low ash Low Saps oils, where the amount of additives is strictly regulated, since most additives turn to ash when burned.
One more group of oils is worth mentioning separately. A technology dating back to the Second World War, when it was used in Germany to make oils for military equipment. This technology is called GTL (Gas to Liquid) from gas to liquid). Natural gas is used to produce oils using this technology, but the production technology differs from the production of PAO oils from gas, the process is more like gas liquefaction and deep purification, as for hydrocracking oils, therefore GTL oils are classified as group 3 base oils. In terms of properties and qualities, GTL oils are between oils of groups 3 and 4, representing a reasonable compromise between cost and advantages. In our time, Shell was the first company to start producing oils using this technology, initially at its own factory. subsidiary Pennzoi in America and later at their new factory in Qatar. All Shell Ultra oils are produced using this technology.
In general, GTL technology has been showing itself quite viable for many years. By the way, how exactly and who came up with the idea to get oil not from oil?
Story
The basis of GTL technology was laid in 1925 by the German chemists Fischer and Tropsch. The idea was developed, and in 1935 the technology began to work on an industrial scale. Everything was explained by urgent need: Germany was preparing for war, a large amount of fuel and lubricants was required, but the country was not rich in oil. With natural gas, things were also not very good, so coal was used as the feedstock. And what about Gas to Liquid? First, synthesis gas was obtained from coal, and then liquid hydrocarbons were obtained from it.By the end of the Second World War, seventeen synthetic fuel factories were operating in Germany, and about 7 million tons of fuels and lubricants were produced per year. Almost all Luftwaffe aviation, and about half of the Wehrmacht ground equipment, moved on "coal" fuel. By the way, not only fuel and lubricants were made from coal, but also synthetic soap, and even margarine.
Development
After the war, eight German GTL factories were taken to the USSR, only two of them were launched, which worked sluggishly, and quietly closed in the early 1990s. But the allies of the USSR - in particular, the United States - turned out to be more practical. The German scientists were invited to move to America and continue their work on the GTL topic at the US Bureau of Mines. The results of this work have found practical application. Today, Fischer-Tropsch technology for fuel production is used by such American manufacturers as BP, Exxon Mobil and ChevronTexaco.But the Royal Dutch Shell concern began to produce not only fuel, but also oils using the GTL technology. The impetus for the further development of technology was again served by an unfavorable situation, namely, the embargo on oil supplies to the United States, which was introduced by the OPEC countries in 1973. As a result of this embargo, the price of oil in America doubled in one day and quadrupled within a year.
GTL technology came to the rescue again. In 1983, an experimental Shell plant for the production of gas oils was already operating in Holland, in 1993, the concern launched a plant in Malaysia - based on local very not poor gas wells, and in 2012 - a huge industrial complex in Qatar, the world's second largest natural gas field.
So, all of the above is yet another confirmation that if problems with oil suddenly start, life will definitely not stop. Especially when you consider that in addition to the mentioned gas, now fashionable electricity and hydrogen, there are many other sources of energy. But this is a topic for a separate story.