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Lubricant formulators struggle
with significant challenges to -
day. The needs of the market-
place are evolving — driven, in large
part, by increasingly stringent Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) re -
quire ments, governmental regulations
and global energy conservation initia-
tives. As a result of these changes, to -
day’s automotive and industrial lubri-
cants must offer unprecedented per-
formance capabilities.
They must satisfy the growing de -
mands for energy efficiency, fuel econ-
omy and minimized emissions. They
also must provide more robust protec-
tion to extend machine life and run-
time under ever more severe operating
conditions, as OEMs continue to cre-
ate equipment with smaller sumps and
with higher output and energy density.
Despite handling higher tempera-
tures and more extreme conditions,
lubricants are now expected to last
longer. Industrial and commercial cus-
tomers want longer drain intervals to
help them boost productivity while
minimizing waste and the costs of
maintenance and product replace-
ment. Many of today’s lubricants also
need to meet evolving global regula-
tions for food contact.
A vital solutionTo overcome these challenges, formu-
lators must innovate. And to support
their innovation, they need advanced,
technical solutions. They need base
stocks that can contribute both blend-
ing flexibility and high-performance
capabilities. That’s why ExxonMobil
Chemical has introduced a new high-
viscosity product to their renowned
portfolio of synthetic base stocks —
SpectraSyn Elite™ 300 metallocene
polyalphaolefin (mPAO).
As the industry’s only 300 cSt
mPAO base stock, SpectraSyn Elite
300 augments the formulators’ tool-
A new high-viscosity solutionfor today’s challengesBy Michael P. Sheehan, Marketing Technical Services, ExxonMobil Chemical Company
ExxonMobil Chemical
box by providing a new high-viscosity
base stock for formulating industrial
and automotive lubricants, as well as
greases. Laboratory tests show
SpectraSyn EliteTM 300 mPAO can help
enable formulators to develop prod-
ucts that capitalize on the enhanced
properties of mPAO while offering
lower treat rates and better viscosmet-
ric properties than alternative high-
viscosity base stocks.
Because of its impressive versatili-
ty, SpectraSyn Elite 300 also gives for-
mulators the ability to blend the com-
plete spectrum of ISO VG grades of
industrial oils with a single base stock.
This versatility simplifies the process
— as well as base stock product inven-
tory — while allowing formulators the
flexibility to create the innovative
prod ucts that are essential for their
customers today.
High-performancecharacteristicsCompared to other high-viscosity base
stocks, SpectraSyn Elite 300 delivers
outstanding characteristics, to help
formulators achieve necessary levels
of performance. It offers enhanced film
thickness that enables wear protec-
tion, which can provide improved
durability in industrial and automotive
applications.
The excellent low-temperature flu-
idity of SpectraSyn Elite 300, coupled
with its high viscosity index (VI), can
help deliver wear protection during
cold-weather start-ups. It can also
broad en the operating range by pro-
viding enhanced film thickness at
higher temperatures, which may con-
tribute to equipment efficiency, relia-
bility and service life.
Additionally, the good shear stabil-
ity of SpectraSyn Elite 300 helps fin-
ished lubricants stay in grade longer,
maintaining crucial protection even
under severe conditions. This can help
keep equipment running longer.
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Formulation advantages
SpectraSyn Elite™ 300 mPAO achieved
the lowest pour points (ASTM 5950),
when compared with other high-vis-
cosity base stocks. (Figure 1). Thus,
SpectraSyn Elite 300 is a new solution
as today’s equipment builders seek
lubricants with excellent low-tempera-
ture properties that can contribute to
improved energy efficiency. Because
today’s equipment builders seek lubri-
cants with good low-temperature
properties that allow for energy effi-
ciency, the pour-point results show
how SpectraSyn Elite 300 can help fill
a critical need.
Base stocks that can deliver excel-
lent shear stability can be very useful
to formulators, who want their finished
lubricants to maintain viscosity and
stay in grade for longer service life.
ExxonMobil Chemical used the Taper
Roller Bearing test (CEC-L-45-A-99) at
20 and 100 hours to measure this
capability in SpectraSyn Elite 300 and
found that, along with SpectraSyn
EliteTM 150, SpectraSyn Elite 300 per-
formed better than other high-viscosi-
ty base stocks tested, especially when
the test was extended from 20 to 100
hours (Figure 2).
SpectraSyn Elite 300 demonstrated
enhanced performance in EHL film
thickness testing at 80 and 120 de grees
Celsius, SpectraSyn Elite 300 demon-
strated step-out performance, far sur-
passing the other high-viscosity base
stocks tested (Figure 3). Formulators
seeking to blend lubricants that sup-
ply wear protection under extreme
conditions can benefit from the film
thickness properties of SpectraSyn
Elite 300.
Application versatility
The high VI of SpectraSyn Elite 300
translates into formulated lubricants.
As the base stock is formulated into
ISO VG industrial gear oils, the result-
ing viscosity index surpassed other
high-viscosity base stocks tested
(Figure 4). High VI can help enhance
ExxonMobil Chemical (continued)
energy efficiency, equipment reliability
and life, lubricant durability and pro-
tection at high and low temperatures
— critical capabilities in today’s mar-
ketplace, especially for industrial
lubricants.
Additionally, SpectraSyn Elite™ 300
mPAO has demonstrated that its
excellent low-temperature perform-
ance provides improved pumpability,
while resisting water washout in
industrial grease formulations. It dis-
played superior water washout per-
formance (ASTM D12) versus low
molecular weight PIBs in ISO VG 100
and 460 greases, retaining its ability to
protect even in aqueous environments
(Figure 5).
The extreme conditions of many
industrial applications challenge the
limits of lubrication — more now than
ever before. That’s why equipment
builders and plant operators demand
durability and high performance.
SpectraSyn Elite 300 helps formula-
tors meet these challenges.
For formulating automotive lubri-
cants, SpectraSyn Elite 300 also can be
a valuable blending option for formu-
lators as a high-viscosity component
in 5W-30 and 0W-20 SAE grade formu-
lations. In ASTM D5293 (CCS @ -30°C)
and ASTM D4683 (HTHS @ 150°C) vis-
cosity tests, SpectraSyn Elite 300 post-
ed the highest HTHS (high tempera-
ture high shear) and the lowest CCS
(cold-cranking simulator) of synthetic
base stocks tested, while furnishing
the lowest treat rate (Figure 6). These
tests demonstrate the new product’s
capabilities at both high and low tem-
peratures, as well as its stability under
high-stress conditions.
Enabling innovation
SpectraSyn Elite 300 offers formula-
tors a new, high-viscosity, high-per-
formance base stock to help meet
many of today’s challenging require-
ments. It provides formulators with
blending flexibility to develop innova-
tive lubricants, while reducing the
need for costly additives. Through
unsurpassed high-viscosity capabili-
ties, SpectraSyn Elite 300 enables the
innovation necessary for formulators
to satisfy the requirements of equip-
ment builders and the needs of their
customers.
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© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved.All trademarks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries unless otherwise noted.
Source of test results/product information: ExxonMobil data