LANXESS is making sure everything runs smoothly when it comes to metalworking and the use of engines and machinery across virtually all sectors of industry. The specialty chemicals company offers a comprehensive range of products that enhance the quality and durability of lubricants. On November 28 and 29, 2017, the company showcased its portfolio to the industry at the “Kühlschmierstoff-Forum” (Metalworking Fluids Forum) in Fellbach, near Stuttgart. 

Additives and base materials for the most exacting demands

The product range of the Additives (ADD) business unit at LANXESS includes synthetic lubricant base oils, lubricant additives, industrial additive packages and finished lubricants that are used over a whole variety of application areas and industries. A core competence are additives and additive packages for metalworking applications which are finding their use mainly in the automotive, aviation, shipbuilding and primary metalworking industries. Other key areas comprise products for refrigeration systems, food processing, mining and construction. They are used to protect engines and drive trains from wear and extend the service life of machinery.

The product line of additives and additive packages for industrial lubricants and greases is offered under the brand names Additin, Lobase, Hybase, Naugalube and Durad. The Hatcol and Synton brands are high-performance synthetic base oils, while Reolube hydraulic fluids are used in special application areas that require not just good lubrication, but the highest possible standards in flame retardance.

Effective preservation of metalworking fluids

Metalworking fluids are either oil based or water-based emulsions or solutions. In metal workshops, they are in permanent contact with not only tools and workpieces, but also air and must be protected against decay through bacteria, fungi and yeasts. Otherwise, they soon can turn into putrid waste. Metalworking fluids are therefore preserved with biocides. 

LANXESS offers Preventol O Extra, Preventol ON Extra and Preventol OF 45 as effective protection. The products are based on o-phenylphenol (OPP), a mild-acting, stable fungicide, which is resistant even under difficult conditions, such as a high pH or high temperature. It acts on the cell membranes of the microorganisms, without being decomposed by their metabolisms. As a result, unlike most biocides, Preventol OPP is not consumed when eliminating microorganisms. Its most striking properties are an especially long effective life, good incorporation, outstanding stability in liquids with high pH values and excellent effectiveness even in the parts of a plant that only come into contact with metalworking fluids due to splashing. It is particularly suited to protecting non-synthetically produced, natural, difficult-to-preserve, contaminated substances such as emulsions containing mineral oil that are intended for use as metalworking fluids. 

OPP is the preferred choice in applications where exposure, i.e. contact with people, plays a role. For example, it is used in disinfectants and crop protection agents and, unlike many other biocides, has no sensitizing (allergenic) effect. Despite its high stability, it is biologically degradable below the minimum concentration. 

The use of OPP in concentrations up to 1,000 ppm in ready-to-use metalworking emulsions has been thoroughly tested. Roland Stopp, Product Manager in the Biocides business line at the LANXESS Material Protection Products business unit, summarizes the results: “The test series showed that effluents, after splitting off the emulsions, can as a rule be discharged to public sewage treatment plants without any additional processing and without exceeding the specified limits of the phenol index.” The toxicological evaluations of OPP likewise give no occasion for criticism. In practice, levels fall far below the MAK value of 5 milligrams OPP per cubic meter of air that was introduced in 2015. Tests in a facility with a central plant measuring 140 cubic meters found a maximum of 0.09 milligrams OPP per cubic meter of air, which was measured as vapor and aerosol.