NOF developing market for biodegradable hydraulic fluids in Japan

Japan’s NOF Corp. is developing a market for its new Millube series of biodegradable hydraulic fluids that are based on fatty acid polyol esters which are readily decomposed by microorganisms, resulting in less impact on the environment than mineral-oil-based hydraulic fluids. Japan’s market for hydraulic fluids, covering applications such as construction and agricultural machinery, automotive machine tools and injection-molding machines, is estimated at 220,000 tons per year, 95% of which are met by mineral oil-based hydraulic fluids. A limited volume of biodegradable hydraulic fluids is already being sold in Japan, but NOF claims that Millube offers higher biodegradability. Besides domestic consumption, the company also plans to target markets like Europe, where the use of biodegradable hydraulic fluids is mandated in two-stroke outboard engines, chain saws, river construction machinery and other application areas, and China, where environmental awareness is growing. With a five-year demonstration project conducted since April 2006 on Millube’s use as a hydraulic fluid in a sluice-closing system in Kumamoto Prefecture showing no signs of degradation of the system or diminished performance, Millube was adopted in February 2011 for the hydraulic valves used to regulate water volume in Ikari Dam in Tochigi Prefecture. It is also being tested on a prototype of a flap-gate movable breakwater. (January 10, 2012)