Q: "Seems like theres only a few manufacturers of base oils, and the additive market is limited also. So how hard is it to create a high quality synthetic?"
A; It is rather difficult to create a full synthetic PAO or ester base oil from scratch. First you need raw materials for the PAO or ester, and then you need reactor vessels and catalyst chemicals. It gets expensive. If you go to synthetic base oil suppliers, you had better be willing to purchase 55 gallon drums at a minimum. An education or educational background in organic chemistry, tribology, mechanical engineering, and physics is a must.
Q: " Does Lubrizol have standard "packages" of additives to be mixed with the base oils?"
A: Yes, as does Ciba Geigy, RT Vanderbilt, Ethyl, etc. Many additive companies may supply a complete package or specialize in one type of additive or additives. ATF adds, for example, usually come in a package specifically designed for your base oil(s) and the ATF type, except for the new Chrysler ATF+4 catagory.
Q: "How much customization is available from the additive companies?"
A: How much do you want to pay and how many non-disclosure agreements do you want to sign?
Comment: "Seems like some of the oil marketers dont have much in the way of labs; used more for quality control rather than "research"!"
Response: Labs are used for many purposes such as for formulation, formulation analysis, testing, qualification, statistical analysis, etc. The smaller formulators may use outside labs for testing and qualification.
Creating an oil for a niche market can get expensive. It is not for the faint hearted.
[ July 02, 2003, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]
