Thermo‐oxidative stability of new‐generation base oils

Abstract

AbstractThermo‐oxidation of base oils is the primary cause of lubricant degradation and engine failure during use. Degradation is mainly due to high‐temperature oxidation and thermal decomposition near the piston ring zone, forming oxygenated compounds that polymerise to form high‐molecular‐weight insoluble deposits. New‐generation base oils are found to be more stable towards oxidation and deposit formation due to the absence of aromatics and polynaphthenes. However, compatibility with antioxidants and other additives is now of greater concern because of the poor solvency of these oils. With the increase in the purity of the oil, sometimes the oxidation performance is poor in comparison to group I oils, mainly due to the removal of sulphur compounds, which act as natural antioxidants.Thermal techniques, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), are emerging as fast and accurate methods for determining the thermo‐oxidative stability of base oils and their additive blends, making it possible to measure the oxidation induction time, incipient oxidation temperature, and deposit‐forming tendency. The objective of this work is to evaluate the thermo‐oxidative stability of new‐generation group II/III base oils without antioxidant additives, using DSC and TGA. The kinetics of base oil oxidative degradation are studied using different heating rates. The data obtained from thermal techniques are correlated with the micro‐oxidation data obtained from the Penn State Micro‐Oxidation (PSMO) test. The response of a typical antioxidant additive, zinc dialkyldithiophosphate, towards oxidative degradation of base oils has also been studied.