lubrication
New chemistry lifts lube into new era
The main aim in formulating Talusia Universal was to secure a faster and more effective neutralisation reaction I
n the 1970s/80s, Total Lubmarine’s marketing manager Serge Dal Farra explains, base number (BN) analysis was widely regarded as the sole quality parameter of lube oil performance. Experts believed that, to be effective, cylinder oil should have a BN that matched the sulphur content of the fuel: for example, the BN should be 70 for high sulphur content fuels (3.5-4.5 per cent).
They were also convinced that a higher BN would give a better neutralisation performance. Such thinking, however, has since evolved. It is human nature to make comparisons and in business it naturally makes absolute commercial sense to compare and contrast the properties, cost, availability and effectiveness of two seemingly similar products. The difficulty arises when attempts are made to compare two products that in fact have a very different make-up.
A conventional electric train and a Japanese
Shinkansen bullet train are both trains but their relative efficiency of operation does not compare. Similarly with marine lubricants, it is not practical to directly compare conventional
www.mpropulsion.com
Emission control areas and the significant variations in fuel grades needed for main engines has inspired a ‘new chemistry’ for marine cylinder lube oils
by Doug Woodyard
BN products with a product such as Total Lubmarine’s patented Talusia Universal, as the chemistry – and therefore its performance capability – is completely different. Fundamentally, and expressed simply, Talusia
Universal’s neutralisation capability is more efficient than a conventional BN 70 marine cylinder lubricant, even though it has a BN of 57. Indeed, the main objective in formulating Talusia Universal was to achieve a much faster and more effective neutralisation reaction. At the same time, of course, the aim was also to simplify operations for the crew and reduce operating costs.
Although it had recognised limitations, for
many years BN was the only data available with which to gauge the ability of a lube oil to fight acids within the cylinder. Over the past four years, says Serge Dal Farra, it has been clearly proven that the BN argument is now outdated. This is because BN is a physico-chemical characteristic which, alone, is simply not enough to explain the neutralisation performance of a cylinder lubricant.
It is now understood that what counts is the kinematic of the neutralisation reaction, proven by the neutralisation temperature (To) curves. The faster that To increases, the faster the neutralisation reaction: that is, the oil’s ability to fight acids rapidly, irrespective of simply its BN. This is why a BN 57 product such as Talusia Universal is more efficient than the classical BN 70 products on the market, claims Serge Dal Farra, while the basicity reserve is high enough to ensure effective neutralisation of acids produced during combustion, regardless of the fuel’s sulphur content.
This is important because burning high sulphur fuels increases the possibility of higher sulphuric acid production, resulting
Marine Propulsion I February/March 2012 I 119
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