Basics: Current base oil quality and technological options for its improvement— an Overview

Abstract

AbstractRecent technological developments have revolutionised the lubricant industry by spurring a widespread quality improvement in both base oils and additives, giving superior finished lubricants. The upgrading of base oils is being brought about by more demanding requirements from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), by government regulations, and through consumer awareness, environmental concerns, decreasing supply of high‐quality lubricant‐bearing crudes, and expanding markets worldwide.Present‐day lubricant demand is for maximum oxidation stability, superior low‐temperature performance, low volatility, and improved additive response, which are difficult to achieve through conventional processing. Conventional solvent lubricant refining produces base oils with a viscosity index (VI) of 100 with a fair amount of sulphur and aromatics, i.e., Group I base oils only. The current requirements of high‐performance base oils can conveniently be met through the hydroprocessing route. Depending upon the severity level, hydroprocessing is able to produce base oils of VI 95–110, in addition to low sulphur and high saturates content (Group II and Group III) by transforming the undesirable molecules into more useful structures. In countries such as India, a hybrid approach offers a technical solution to meet current demands for lubricant quality. This approach can be implemented in existing lubricant refineries without entailing major changes in refinery configuration, besides being cost‐effective.This paper describes the current requirements of modern lubricants in relation to API Groups and trends in these, and describes a sequence of technologies involving solvent refining, a cost‐effective hybrid scheme, and more recent hydroprocessing that allows a cost‐effective upgrading of Group I refining process. A case study is given that discusses the adoption of the hybrid scheme in Indian refineries.