The European Ecolabel Lubricants - Additives for Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants
The European Ecolabel
The EU Ecolabel is a voluntary scheme with a clear objective of encouraging business to market “greener” products and services. The category of European Ecolabel lubricants (EEL) was established by Commission Decision on 26 April 2005.
The criteria cover hydraulic oils, greases, chainsaw oils, two stroke oils, concrete release agents and total loss lubricants for use by private consumers and professional users.
To be awarded with the EEL, lubricants must meet requirements for performance, show limited toxicity to aquatic organisms, have high biodegrad- ability with low potential for bioaccumu- lation and contain a certain percentage of renewable sources.
The EEL has been based largely on existing national and international schemes, for example the Nordic Swan, German Blue Angel, ISO 15380 etc., and has been developed in co-operation with the industry and with environmental and consumer NGOs in an attempt to establish one common European definition for ‘biolubricants’.
Lubricants awarded with the EEL are allowed to carry the flower symbol, shown to the left.
To increase EEL market acceptance, the European Commission is financing various marketing activities coordinated by IVAM, a Dutch consultancy and research agency involved in the development of the criteria. The main objective of the activities is to generate new applicants by helping individual companies to apply the criteria to their product.
Green Public Procurement Green Public Procurement is the term used by the European Commission to denote
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public procurement of products, services or works taking into account environmental factors. Some examples are:
• The Black Forest regional initiative, where companies involved in the supply of lubricants and lubricant additives are developing new lubricants which meet EEL requirements. Local authorities have committed to this initiative as end users. The initiative will be a test case for the EEL, helping to understand how far current technology can allow expansion of the current lubricants market to fall under the EEL-scope.
• In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management has announced that it will include the EEL requirements in its preferable purchasing policy of sustainable goods and services.
• Another Dutch initiative is that of its Ministry of Spatial Planning, Housing and The Environment. It has announced the adoption of EEL requirements in the VAMIL regulation, which provides for accelerated depreciation on environmental investments for bio-lubricants.
It is possible to meet EEL requirements by formulating with base fluids and additives that formally meet the EEL requirements at relevant treat rates. It is vital to select both base fluid and additives carefully, in order to optimise eco-toxicity issues and technical performance.
Evaluation of base fluid The base fluid determines properties such as renewability and biodegradability - in this respect esters are the best choice, as other environmentally acceptable base fluids do not meet required renewability targets.
Ecotox evaluation of additives Intentionally added components must be proven for acceptability with respect to the criteria: • R-clauses and impact on formulation • Aquatic Toxicity (daphnia and algae) • Biodegradability / Bioaccumulation • Content of “OSPAR”-listed components
Ciba Speciality Chemicals has carried out a considerable amount of work in evaluating its additives for conformity with the EEL, by working in close co- operation with IVAM, SMK (the Dutch competent body) and the German UBA (competent body of Germany). A list of additives that have positive approval to meet EEL criteria at relevant treat rates is currently being compiled; in addition, Ciba has developed a spreadsheet tool for guidance in the selection of additives for EEL compliant formulations.
Technical Performance evaluation of additives
Formulation of EU Ecolabel Lubricants
Overall, companies are interested in the development of EEL products, but can face problems in their formulation; mainly due to lack of data concerning environmental endpoints for the constituents.
Additives meeting the stringent ecotox- evaluation should prove their compliance with the technical performance requirements - DIN ISO 15380(2) being the specification to achieve the EU- Ecolabel for hydraulic fluids. Additives are needed to improve oxidation and thermal stability of the fluid, as well as protecting the equipment from corrosion and wear. Basic properties like solubility, stability, reactivity and thermal stability are a
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