Synthetic oil is designed to meet demands above and beyond those met by mineral oils. Although the cost of using a synthetic oil can be anywhere from five to 500 times the cost of using a conventional oil, there are important advantages to using synthetic oil in some applications.
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While synthetic oil does not necessarily outperform mineral oil in all respects, some potential performance benefits of certain synthetic oil include higher oxidation stability, improved lubricity, high viscosity index, low pour point, low volatility, antifoaming and better demulsibility properties.
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Some important applications in which mineral oils are typically inferior might include food-grade, fire resistant, extremely high- or low-temperature needs, and oxygen- or radiation-exposed applications. There are a large number of synthetic oil suppliers. Periodically, Noria will publish a synthetic oil buyers guide in Machinery Lubrication magazine.
Synthetic oil has been in use for a long time. In the 1940s, esters were created for use in the aviation industry. The demand was for lubricants that could deal with the cold, high-altitude temperatures, and the jet engine heat.
During the following decades the temperature requirements widened with demand from the aerospace industry. Polyphenylether and perfluoropolyethers were synthetic oils developed in this era.
