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Are eco-friendly lubricants the future of the oil industry?

Governments and businesses are more environmentally conscious than ever before, turning to more sustainable products to reduce their impact. Oil pollution remains a problem - a single litre of oil can pollute as much as 1,00,000 litres of water. It's believed that 60% of all oil sold is unaccounted for, consigning it to ground water, rivers, and lakes.
Marked by some as the future of the oil industry, environmentally-friendly lubricants use biodegradable bases combined with additives to create different properties. There are many benefits to using these 'green' oils, especially for their less toxic and renewable properties.
Vegetable oils have many properties that outstrip their mineral counterparts including a much higher lubricity. The viscosity index (VI) for these oils is also far higher than traditional mineral based oils. For example, a VI of 223 is common for vegetable oils whereas a lower 90-100 VI is the average for most mineral oils. The viscosity index of an oil describes its reaction to temperature changes. An oil with a high VI has a smaller change in viscosity when faced with varying temperatures.
Due to their high flash points, vegetable oils are safer than mineral oils when it comes to being flammable. On average vegetable oils have a flash point of 326 degrees compared to that of 200 for mineral oils. A flash point is the temperature at which a combustible liquid must be heated to become flammable when combined with air and a small flame.
There are some drawbacks that are stopping a wider uptake of the products though. A large problem for vegetable oil is its lack of oxidative stability. Additives are combined with the oils to combat this issue, but this increases the cost of developing the lubricant.
There have also been advances in bio-technology recently that have created more stable oil seeds using genetic modification. These seeds don’t need additives or antioxidants to keep them stable so the production cost is lower.
Another problem hindering current vegetable based lubricants is the high pour points of the product. A pour point is the lowest temperature at which an oil or distillate fuel flows when cold. Oils with a vegetable base are around three degrees higher than mineral based oils, so they are less effective in extremely cold weather.