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F+L Week 2015 | 10-13 March 2015
commercial development of several lubricant
additives, primarilymolybdenum-based friction
modifiers. Hemoved to Infineumat its start-up
and enjoyed several formulation and customer
roles. During this time, Ian obtained his MBA at
Oxford Brookes University.
In 2004, he joined BP, where he led product
development projects and joint research
activities with a key automotive customer. He
then took up a role in BP’s central technology
group, responsible for strategy and planning
activities spanning all of BP’s operational
areas.
In this role, Ian tackledmany technology
management areas and latterly focused on
biosciences/biofuel strategy.
In July 2008, Ianmoved back to his initial
technical field and joined Afton Chemical to
assume the role of R&DDirector for Engine
Oils, a global role responsible for all research,
component and product development in this
business. He then took the post of Technical
Director in 2013, with responsibility for product
development and deployment across all of
Afton’s businesses: engine oil, ATF, axle and
off road, industrial, metalworking, fuels and
refinery additives. During this time, Ianwas
accepted as a fellowof the Royal Society of
Chemistry.
Ian lives inOxfordshire where he spends as
much time as possible playingwith his family in
the garden, andwhen not working he enjoys all
sports, particularly cycling and triathlon.
DEVELOPMENTS IN LUBRICANT
ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Friday 13 March 14:00 | 17:30
Chairman:
Gary Parsons, Chevron
Oronite
DispersantCombPolymers-
ANewBuildingBlockof Fuel
EconomySolutions for
DrivelineFluids
Friday 13March 14:05 | 14:30
TORSTEN STOEHR
Evonik Industries AG
The globally enacted targets for fleet
average emissions pose true challenges to
automobile manufacturers. Fuel economy is
the key criterion in the design of new vehicles.
Optimising fuel economy requires constant
improvements both in hardware and lubricant
performance. As a key component of the
lubricant, the viscosity modifier has become
a crucial design element due to its multiple
physico-chemical modes of action. Since the
global automotive industry remains under
pressure on manufacturing costs of the
hardware and the lubricant, the balance of
fuel- and cost-efficiency drives the decision
making process of formulators and OEMs.
Poly (alkyl methacrylates) are the pre-
dominant viscosity modifiers in driveline
lubricants. This chemistry has been combined
with polyolefin chemistry to create defined
comb polymers that drive the mechanism of
polymer coil expansion and collapse to the
extreme. Both viscosity/temperature relation-
ship and thickening efficiency are beyond the
performance of known chemistries at same
shear stability. Comb polymers represent a
step change in the lubricant industry and
allow for significantly reduced low-tempera-
ture viscosity and reduced internal friction,
which directly translates into fuel economy.
Meanwhile, comb polymers have been
applied in multiple driveline (and engine oil)
factory or service fill oils at global OEMs. This
paper showcases their NEDC and JC08 fuel
economy advantages when applied in a
low-viscosity automatic transmission fluid.
In a further innnovative step, the comb
polymer chemistry has been upgraded with
add-on performance based on nitrogen- and
oxygen-functional ‘dispersant’ moieties. This
new generation of dispersant comb polymers
provides an expanded performance envelope
that comprises not only superior viscometrics
but also improved wet clutch friction, disper-
sancy of oxidation products and increased
pitting lifetime. This paper introduces a slate
of performance advantages for transmission
and gear fluids and demonstrates a new tech-
nology that could potentially benefit lubricant
formulators and OEMs.
Torsten Stoehr studied polymer
science at Johannes-Guten-
berg-University Mainz,
Germany and at the University
of Massachusetts, U.S.A. His
PhDwas completed at Max-Planck-Institute for
Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany, at IBM
Almaden Research Center, San Jose, U.S.A.
and at Stanford University, Palo Alto, U.S.A. In
