Bio-Diesel Usage in Heavy Duty Applications and Lubricant Solutions
In Asia, increase in oil prices coupled with heavy reliance on imports and emission concerns continue to emphasize the need for the increased use of renewable energy sources, such as bio-diesel. Countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. are progressing the use of bio-diesel, ranging from a baseline of 10% usage (B10) in diesel and up to 30% (B30). Palm oil is the major feedstock for producing bio-diesel in Southeast Asia. An understanding of how the high content usage of bio-diesel with regional feedstock impacts lubricant performance is critical to its heavy-duty application in Asia.
During F+L Week 2022, Oronite shared a study on the impact of bio-diesel usage from 20-30% in heavy duty diesel engine oils, where we selected and modified relevant industry standard bench tests and adapted them for bio-diesel usw and Oronite solutions. Bench test data supporting compatibility with 20-30% bio-diesel in fully formulated diesel engine oil formulations using Oronite diesel engine oil additives was presented.
As the next step to develop robust solutions, we have continued to generate test data in bench tests such as the ACEA CEC L-109 (assessing oxidation and viscosity control with bio-diesel), HTCBT in the presence of biodiesel (discriminate the effects of bio-diesel addition), PDSC (evaluate oxidation performance and correlate to piston deposit).
Field tests are also critical to validate no-harm performance of engine oils in engines using bio-diesel. We have commenced field tests in heavy duty diesel engine fleets with bio-diesel, using fully formulated diesel engine oils with Oronite diesel engine oil additive packages.
In this paper, we will share the findings from the latest work done by Oronite, including bench and field test data, demonstrating compatibility with B20/B30 bio-diesel. This study supports our efforts to collaborate with stakeholders in helping advance lower carbon solutions used for transportation.
