Additives are the “seven herbs and spices” of the lubricant world. They often help to increase performance, or in boundary and mixed lubrication, help take…

The bulk oil additives are those which act within the volume of the lubricant – as distinct from the surfactants which tend to stick to…

The surface acting additives, also known as surfactants, are an additive type that either wants to cling to surfaces, or to oil contaminants. They tend…

Base oils are a foundational component of lubrication. In most lubricating environments, the base oil viscosity is the leading factor in lubrication performance. In this…

Mineral base oils derived from refined crude oils dominate the market by volume. API Group I – III oils are far and away the most…

When extra performance is required, or longer oil drains – we turn to synthetic base oils. When combined with a high quality additive package these…

Specialty base oils cater to niche applications as well as extreme operating environments. Maybe the application is in the chemicals industry processing a reactive gas,…

Bearings are machine elements that allow components to move with respect to each other. This is a very simple definition that allows for many variations of…

Crankcase bearings (for both engines and compressors) are a variation on a plain or journal bearing. But they have some unique requirements that makes them…

Compressors are a fascinating application. There are so many different machine designs, compressed gases and lubricants that it is probably the most variable of all…

Storage and handling is one of THE most important aspects of lubrication. You can purchase the best lubricants and the highest price, from the most…

Particles are the enemy of equipment. They cause abrasive and erosive wear, and ultimately reduce the effective life of machine components. For this reason, it…

Particles are extremely destructive to equipment. But in order to remove them, we first need to understand the level of particle contamination. This is where…

Particulates are the enemy of your equipment. Causing abrasive and erosive wear that limits the useful life of equipment, it can also have major detrimental…

There’s a good argument to be made that water is the most common of all lubricant contaminants. This is partially because it is everywhere –…

Water, being a lubricant’s number one contaminant, is in many respects also its number one enemy. There are many negative consequences of water’s interaction with…

Removing water from oil systems is hard. The preference (and most cost effective method) is to prevent ingress in the first place, but where this…

Air is all around us. You may not necessarily think of it as being a contaminant, but air can have many damaging effects on both…

Degradation of lubricants is an essential concept to understand for anyone that is involved in lubrication. Although there is so much more detail to be…

Oxidation is the nemesis of all molecules, but here we will focus on the effects of oxidation on lubricating oils. A natural process that is…