Marine Lubricants; Find Wide Application in Shipping and Oil and Gas Industries

 

Marine lubricants are used in various marine applications such as engines, hydraulics, and compressors. They are mostly used in seashore countries and find wide-ranging application in shipping and oil and gas industries. Lubricants help maintain low temperatures by destroying the heat generated by friction. They are derived from mineral, vegetable, or animal sources and are used to facilitate various functions such as reducing friction, preventing corrosion, ensuring good bearing operation, preventing wear and tear, and extracting contaminants.

Marine lubricants are widely used in the marine industry, specifically for lubrication purposes. Lubricants are made from crude oil obtained from petroleum refineries, and it can also be derived from a number of organic materials such as alkyds, fats, tallow and synthetic oil. It is a liquid solution used to lubricate metallic parts, such as pumps, generators, control bearings, shafts, and more. However, each equipment require a particular type of lubricant due to its mechanical configuration and its operating condition.

Moreover, it depends on the mechanical stress, operating temperature and pressure, frequency of use, and various other parameters depending on the environment. Marine lubricants are used to protect and enhance the efficiency of engines and equipment. They are designed to enable optimal performance in operation. They offer various extraordinary inherent characteristics, such as mitigating cold corrosion, protection from mechanical wear, improve reliability and performance of machinery, protect components at high temperatures, and extend engine life.

Marine lubricants are available in different viscosities for different equipment functions. However, the choice of marine lubricant depends largely on the machine, operating condition, application, and environment. Ship loading capacity is also considered when selecting marine lubricants. In U.S., the demand for marine lubricants is increasing due to increasing movement of refining petroleum, crude products, and chemicals, especially after the shale oil revolution. For instance, in 2019, ExxonMobil added Mobilgard M420 to its range of advanced marine lubricants. It is formulated for use on vessels running on 0.50% or 0.10% sulfur fuels.