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Option 3 – white oils This brings us to the third option: white oils. White oils are highly refined mineral oils and as such they are cheaper and (currently) more readily available than most synthetics. Originally produced by acid treatment this process lead to unwanted sludge formation and was mostly replaced by two stage hydrotreatment which is employed by the large white oil producers of today. The resulting end products are divided into: medicinal white oils; technical white oils; and process oils. Process oils are not viable for H1 products, which leaves us with two out of three alternatives:
• The medicinal grade requires the material to be almost completely colourless and have extremely low levels of aromatics and sulphur. Since these oils are used as components for medicinal products their composition and specifications are clearly defined in the European Pharmacopoeia and the US Pharmacopoeia. Although this is one of the few instances where EU legislation actually defines the requirements at least of a base oil, it does not help the lubricant user because there is no reference to lubricants and it all comes back down to the United States CFR.
• CFR §178.3620 clarifies which specifications a white oil must meet to be suitable for use in a food grade lubricant and defines this oil as a technical white oil. These technical white oils conform to slightly less strict requirements than medicinal products but are for all practical purposes comparable in quality when it comes to lubricant production and the performance of the end product.
Compared to PAO base stocks, technical white oils also show better additive solubility properties, which makes them a real alternative to the aforementioned synthetics. Apart from serving as a lubricant base oil, white oils are used as direct food contact materials like release agents because of their low risk for human health. The medicinal white oils are even used as components for skin creams and other cosmetics, i.e. for direct human body ingress (check your skin cream for ‘Paraffinum Liquidum’ if you don’t believe it).
With all the positive effects of white oils vs other viable base oil choices, there is one possible problem on the sales side for EU companies which the average lubricant formulator or technician will not have taken into account: White oils are usually produced outside the EU, i.e. in the United States, Canada or also in the far East. The customs tariff code for these products is 2710 19 85 which puts them in the same heading as the end products which they are used to make.
Without going into too much detail, this fact can stop the end product from having preferential EU origin because there is no heading change of all non-EU components. The company which purchases the finished lubricant is well advised to ask their supplier about the effects of a possible change of products on the preferential origin before switching from synthetics to white oils. Especially equipment manufacturers looking for factory fill oils must take this into account on the purchasing side before they risk loosing preferential origin of their machine.
There are even more possible base oil choices but the aforementioned three (edible, PAO and white oil) represent the ‘standard’ portfolio in H1 lubricant production and suffice as examples for the sake of brevity.
Religious Certifications Since food grade oils are used in food production, there is one last important aspect to consider and this is the question of religious certifications. There are two main terms which refer to food being acceptable for consumption by members of religious groups and these are Halal for the Islamic and Kosher for the Jewish community. Both require a multitude of rules to be followed and a lot of these refer to contamination by substances which are deemed unclean. Because an H1 lubricant is an incidental food contact material it is also subject to the scrutiny of the religious authorities which certify that the food is Kosher or Halal. Consequently the lubricant must also be certified which includes regular audits into the materials used and the production and packaging process. While the religious certification of a product makes no statement at all regarding its safety for use in food production, there is an increasing demand and an H1 lubricant should be certified to ensure that registration of the end product is not hampered by this little portion of the production process.
Felix Jeschonek, Purchasing and Production Coordinator, FRAGOL GmbH+Co. KG
LINK
www.fragol.com
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LUBE MAGAZINE NO.130 DECEMBER 2015
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