A lubricant is said to be mineral when its main component, the base oils are coming from the refining of crude oil. Crude oil is being extracted from the ground at various locations across the globe. Crude oil is a fossil fuel and is made of various different components in a ratio that will vary from its geographical origin. One component of crude oil is mineral oil used for lubricants. The refining process will separate this component from the remainder. However this technique is a basic separation process and the resultant mineral oil is always a mixture of different components which have only similar physico-chemical characteristics. For this reason, lubricants based on mineral base oils have a limited performance with properties that also offer a limitation of protection of the mechanical application. In addition, mineral oils are fully dependent on the production of crude oil, which is a non-renewable energy.
Synthetic lubricants, on the other hand, are formulated with synthetic base oils. Synthetic base oils are produced from one or more chemical reactions (known as a “synthesis”) between starting materials and reagents. This process is precisely controlled so that the desired synthetic product is achieved. This is a very versatile process in which a multitude of single products can be produced with bespoke characteristics. Motul and its partners have developed the expertise to finely tune the chemical processes to achieve the best properties for a specific application. That is the reason why synthetic lubricants from Motul offer unrivalled performance and protection coupled with extended long drain intervals. In addition to this, synthetic base oils like esters, developed with Motul’s unique technology, can come from sustainable, renewable and biodegradable starting materials making synthetic lubricants even more beneficial!