Asian motor oils are prone to cause smog?
author: Leila
2024-10-23
Recently, the Materials Research Institute under Savant Group, a testing and research institution in the United States, tested motor oils on the market. The test results found that the phosphorus emissions of SAE 0W-20 and SAE 5W-30 motor oils in Asia were relatively high.
So, what impact will high phosphorus emissions of motor oil have? We are concerned about the phosphorus content in motor oil emissions, mainly because it harms exhaust purifiers and indirectly increases air pollution. On May 20, STLE (Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers) held the 2015 Lubrication Conference in Dallas, USA. Tina Dasbach, operations manager of the Materials Research Institute, gave a report on the issue of phosphorus content in motor oil. She said that from 2009 to 2012, the Materials Research Institute randomly sampled and tested SAE 5W-30 and SAE 0W-20 motor oils and found that the phosphorus content of motor oil emissions decreased significantly in both Asia and North America (including the United States).
However, this good trend did not last. After 2012, the phosphorus emission index has remained at a stable level and has not continued to decline. From an environmental perspective, this is not a good phenomenon.
Dasbach said: "With economic development, air pollution is a serious problem, so the requirements for exhaust emissions are becoming more and more stringent, and accordingly, the phosphorus emissions of engine oil are required to be reduced. Especially in large cities in Asia, smog has become a serious problem, and the entire society, as well as government agencies, will tighten the control standards for automobile emissions."
Savant Group is a US testing and research institution that focuses on the testing of automotive oils and industrial oils. Its Materials Research Institute focuses on the testing and research of automotive oils worldwide. The institution samples automotive oils from around the world, tests and studies the physical and chemical properties of the oils, and tests and compares engine oils from different regions around the world.
The Materials Research Institute collects 650 engine oil samples from around the world every year (including both heavy-duty vehicles and small passenger cars). The engine oils are randomly selected from engine oil dealers and retail stores around the world. Of the 650 oil samples, 250 are sampled from the United States, Canada, Mexico and South American countries. 250 are sampled from the Asia-Pacific region. The remaining 150 were drawn from Europe. Since its establishment, the Materials Research Institute has collected and tested more than 14,000 oil samples.
Compared with Asian oils, European and American oils differ not only in phosphorus emission index, but also in other aspects. Among them, Asian oils have higher evaporation loss rates and different viscosity characteristics. So, what are the effects of these properties? The Materials Research Institute uses the ASTM D5800 test standard (Noack method for determining evaporation loss of lubricants) to test and compare oils in the Asian and American markets. For car owners, a high evaporation loss rate of oil will increase the viscosity of the oil, shorten the effective service life of the oil, and pollute the engine and the environment.
Dasbach said that ordinary motor oil uses mineral oil as the base oil, and the evaporation loss rate of mineral oil is higher than that of synthetic oil at the high temperature of engine operation. The results of the SAE 0W-20 oil sampling test showed that the Asian region had a higher evaporation loss rate than the oil in the American market, but the situation was just the opposite for the SAE 5W-30 oil, which had a lower evaporation loss rate. The evaporation loss rate standard for oil is no more than 15%. If 5W-30 and 0W-20 oils are counted together, the overall average is still below the control value of 15%.
Although the evaporation loss rate of oil is generally OK at present, Dasbach said that it is not a problem now, but it does not mean that it will be OK in the future. In order to improve fuel economy, the future trend is to use more low-viscosity oils, such as the upcoming SAE 0W-16, and then there will be lower viscosity oils. The light oil in low-viscosity oil is relatively easy to evaporate, so this indicator cannot be ignored. For low-viscosity oils in the future, the evaporation loss rate will be more important.
In addition to the evaporation loss rate, the Materials Research Institute also studied other properties, such as the viscosity characteristics of the oil. Through testing, they found that since 2009, the high temperature and high shear viscosity (HTHS viscosity) of SAE 0W-20 engine oil in Asia has been on a downward trend. The result of the test in 2009 was about 5.5cP, and it dropped to 5.2cP last year. In contrast, the high temperature and high shear viscosity of engine oil in the Americas is relatively high. From 2009 to last year, this indicator remained at around 5.6cP. However, Dasbach said that in the high temperature and high shear test, the engine oils in both regions maintained a relatively stable viscosity after the test, but the final result of the engine oil in Asia was slightly lower. This test mainly looks at the stability of the viscosity of the engine oil under high temperature and high shear conditions. Therefore, judging from the test results, although there is a slight difference in the data between the engine oils in the two regions, it does not matter.
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