6
Fuels & Lubes International Quarter Two 2016
The decline of paraffinic Group I
base oils is a well-known fact, as
Groups II and III are becoming more
relevant. So what happens in the
industries that depend on Group I?
Mehdi Fathi-Najafi, senior techni-
cal advisor at Nynas AB, a major
naphthenic base oil producer based
in Stockholm, Sweden, shared some
possible solutions during the F+L
Week conference in Singapore in
March.
Fathi-Najafi illustrated a paradox:
Group II base oils cost less to pro-
duce and yet have more value in the
automotive market, whereas Group
I base oils cost more to produce and
are losing their value. This is happen-
ing partly because of what he calls
a “paraffinic quality shift.” Paraffinic
quality refers to the concentration of
paraffinic molecules within the oil.
Subsequently, bright stocks cannot
be produced at Group II/III refineries.
Paraffinic Group I oils are predom-
inately used in industrial applica-
tions since the automotive segment
has started moving to Group II/III.
Naphthenic oils do not have suffi-
cient high flash point, which makes
them unsuitable for engine use. The
automotive segment only represents
around 30% of paraffinic Group I base
oil use, while nearly 70% are used
in industrial applications. However,
the shift in the automotive segment
towards lower viscosity and cleaner
engine oils for better fuel economy
and better refining economics are
causing the abandonment of the
Group I market altogether, Fathi-Na-
jafi said. The larger molecules and
higher viscosity of Group I as well as
good solvency are essential to indus-
trial applications, but less useful in
engines, especially with today’s fuel
随着二、三类基础油的普及，石蜡基一
类基础油的萎缩是一个众所周知的事实。那
么依赖一类油的行业受到了什么影响呢？总
部位于瑞典斯德哥尔摩的大型环烷基基础
油生产商Nynas AB的高级技术顾问Mehdi
Fathi-Najafi在三月份于新加坡召开的F+L周
上分享了一些可能的解决方案。
Fathi-Najafi揭示了一个奇怪的现象：二
类基础油的生产成本低但在汽车市场有更大
的价值，而一类基础油的生产成本更高且正
在逐渐失去价值。这其中的部分原因被称为
“石蜡基（一类）基础油的萎缩”。这与石蜡
基基础油中小分子的浓度有关。因此，二、
三类油炼厂中不能生产光亮油。
石蜡基一类油绝大多用于工业应用，因为
汽车用油已转为二、三类油。环烷基油的闪
点不够高，因此它不适用于发动机。汽车用
油只占到石蜡基一类基础油用量的30%，而
70%是用于工业应用。但，为了实现更好的
燃料经济性和更好的炼厂效益，随着汽车用
油向更低的粘度、更清洁的发动机油发展，
The paraffinic
quality shift
石蜡基一类油
基础油供应萎缩
BY ALISON GAINES
