BIO-BASED LUBRICANTS

A Market Opportunity Study Update

Prepared for the

United Soybean Board

November 2008

By: Bart J. Bremmer & Dr. Larry Plonsker

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Objectives and Conclusions .......................................................................................... 1

Study Objectives................................................................................................. 1

Conclusions from Original 1997 Study ............................................................... 1

Overview of the Results of this Update .............................................................. 1

Lubricants and Fluids – Market Overview ..................................................................... 3

World View.......................................................................................................... 3

US Markets......................................................................................................... 3

European Markets .............................................................................................. 3

Bio-Lubricants Markets in the United States ................................................................. 4

Market Definition................................................................................................. 4

Product Performance.......................................................................................... 5

Change is Coming – Legislative Initiatives ......................................................... 5

Environmental and Regulatory Status........................................................................... 6

Overview............................................................................................................. 6

Federal Preferred Purchasing and Product Labeling ......................................... 8

Preferred Purchasing ............................................................................... 8

Labeling Program .................................................................................... 9

Technology Advances ................................................................................................. 10

Additive Technology ......................................................................................... 10

Oil Treatment – Chemical Transformations and Polymerization ...................... 10

Transesterification ............................................................................................ 11

Genetic Modification ......................................................................................... 11

New Approaches .............................................................................................. 12

Markets for Bio-Lubricants .......................................................................................... 13

Crankcase Oils ................................................................................................. 13

Economic Factors .................................................................................. 13

Technical Factors................................................................................... 13

Balancing Economic and Technical Factors.......................................... 13

Industry Standards................................................................................. 13

Valvoline Formulation and Testing Experience ..................................... 14

Key Lessons of the Valvoline Program.................................................. 15

Transformer Fluids............................................................................................ 15

Elevator Hydraulic Fluids.................................................................................. 17

Other Hydraulic Fluids ...................................................................................... 18

Metalworking Fluids.......................................................................................... 18

2-Cycle Engine Oil............................................................................................ 19

Bar and Chain Oil ............................................................................................. 19

Wire Rope Grease............................................................................................ 19

Railroad Lubricants........................................................................................... 20

Supplier Companies and Product Lines ........................................................... 20

Conclusions and Outlook ............................................................................................ 21

APPENDIX - Environmental and Regulatory Review.................................................. 23

Federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations ................................................... 23

Reporting Requirements – Oil Spills and Hazardous Substance Releases ..... 24

Spill / Release Cleanup Requirements............................................................. 25

Waste Management ......................................................................................... 26

Environmental Fate of Used Vegetable Oil Lubricants..................................... 28
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BIO-BASED LUBRICANTS – A MARKET OPPORTUNITY STUDY UPDATE

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The aim of the current study is to update the report Lubricants and Hydraulic Fluids – A 

Market Opportunity Study dated January 1997. The areas to be addressed are recent 

technologies that affect the performance of soybean oil as a base lubricant, organizations 

that are active in the bio-lubricant area, new markets for soybean-based lubricants and the 

status of the markets identified in the original study with respect to size, growth and key 

factors that affect the markets. A comprehensive environmental and regulatory review is 

provided, including the evolving BioPreferred procurement program.

CONCLUSIONS FROM ORIGINAL 1997 STUDY

The early study was unable to identify any substantial volume of soybean oil-based 

lubricants that were then sold commercially in the United States. One lubricant supplier 

was said to have sold soybean oil-based wire rope lubricants. There were a few hydraulic 

oils sold for use on golf courses and the like, based on rapeseed oil. The latter were 

largely imported from Europe where regulatory and environmental pressures required that

biodegradable and renewable oils be used in areas where petroleum products were 

unacceptable. Some test work in the US looked promising in small volume potential areas, 

such as drip oils and wire rope lubricants.

The attitude in most market areas was that there was little if any incentive to switch from 

mineral oil-based lubricants to vegetable oil-based lubricants. There were no regulations 

and little environmental pressure forcing this change. In addition, vegetable oil-based 

products were generally less oxidatively stable, had some low temperature problems and 

were more expensive than mineral oil products.

The forecast at that time was that there would be regulations in the US that would require 

biodegradable oils to substitute for mineral oil based products in 3-5 years. Once these 

regulations were in place, the use of soybean oils and other renewable oils would find 

significant and growing markets in the US.

OVERVIEW OF THE RESULTS OF THIS UPDATE

On the positive side, there have been some new incentives for government agencies to 

seriously consider adoption of bio-preferred products as required by article IX of the 2002

Farm Bill and successive legislation. However, even in this area, the bio-preferred 

products must compete on performance and price. As was found to be the case at the 

time of the 1997 study, there are still no regulations to mandate adoption of vegetable oils 

in environmentally sensitive application areas to replace mineral oils as is increasingly the 

case in Europe. 

The soybean oil replacement product that has achieved the most success is transformer 

dielectric fluid, also referred to as transformer oil. The acceptability has been high as the 

product shows both a performance and an economic advantage over mineral oil products 

in terms of a much increased fire point, increased service life of the transformer due to 
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extended life of the insulating paper and the potential for much lower cost spill remediation 

due to favorable biodegradability and lower toxicity characteristics.

The largest single potential market for lubricants, crankcase oils, has not yet developed a 

product qualified to meet industry standards. Work still goes on in this area due to the 

potential cost advantage opportunity and products are close to being qualified although the 

soybean oil only represents a small percentage at present of the total formulated oil 

product. However, a small percentage in this market still represents a multi-million bushel 

soy potential if broadly adopted.

The hydraulic fluid area has grown but the growth rate has been slow and still only 

represents a small percentage of the overall market for these fluids. The segment that has 

achieved significant success is elevator oils. A product developed by the USDA and 

licensed to and improved by Bunge/AgriTech has been successfully used by the Statue of 

Liberty, Penn State University and other municipal and educational institutions. Bio-based 

hydraulic fluids are finding increased use at military bases, national laboratories and 

national parks.

The market for 2-cycle oils for marine engines, where the lubricant is used in combination 

with the fuel, was expected to be an application that would be regulated. The EPA has 

proposed and is about to issue regulations for the emissions from these engines. The 

traditional design of these 2-cycle engines cannot meet these new requirements. The 

response to this restriction has been to move to high pressure injection directly into the 

combustion cylinder, rather than carburetion. The emission restriction is thus met and the 

pressure to use biodegradable lubricants in this market segment has been diminished as 

much less unburned hydrocarbons are emitted.

Metalworking fluids have been a successful application for soybean oil lubricants. Alcoa 

and the USDA have developed a rolling oil lubricant that has met Alcoa’s needs and is 

being used commercially today in plants around the world.

The total-loss lubricant area has reportedly not progressed very far. Bar and chain oils 

have not seen very much growth. Bio-lubricant products are available for this application 

but it is up to the consumer to make the choice. The bio-lubricants are more expensive 

and, without regulations, the choice is usually for the cheaper mineral oil based product.

Wire rope oils had the distinction of being one of the few areas where there was a 

regulation that promoted the use of biodegradable oils. It is unclear to what degree this is 

still the case today. In any case, the use of bio-lubricants in this application is small and 

does not seem to have grown. 

The drip oil application also seems to have gone away. Work at the University of 

Nebraska based on a soybean-oil product was commercialized. However, buildup 

problems developed in the field, shutting down some wells, and it is understood that the 

product was withdrawn from the market.
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LUBRICANTS AND FLUIDS - MARKET OVERVIEW

WORLD VIEW

From a global perspective, total lubricant demand is expected to be about 41.8 million 

metric tons, or about 13 billion gallons, according to a 2007 Freedonia report. Growth is 

expected to be about 2%/yr through 2010. The fastest growth will be in the Asia/Pacific 

region, with China being the major gainer.

In the world market, the segmentation by application area is:

- Engine oils – 48%

- Process oils – 15.3%

- Hydraulic oils – 10.2%

- All other - 26.5%

The geographical segmentation is:

- Asia/Pacific – 36.7

- North America – 28%

- Western Europe – 12.5%

- Rest of world – 22.8%

U.S. MARKETS

Sales of all lubricants in the US were in the range of 2.5 billion gallons in 2006, according 

to the latest National Petroleum Refiners Association report. This number is lower than the 

3.6 billion gallons estimated by the above Freedonia study. The NPRA numbers are likely 

to be more accurate. The market is segmented according to the NPRA 2006 data as:

- Automotive – 56.1%

- Industrial – 21.2%

- Process oils – 18.1%

- Metal working – 2.1%

- Greases – 2.4%

The overall growth rate was about 1%/yr. Industrial oils were flat while automotive oils and 

metal working fluids were down, although some parts of these segments grew. The low 

growth has been attributed to the lengthening of oil change intervals and the higher 

performance oils being developed, in spite of the increase in vehicles and other machinery 

requiring lubricants.

EUROPEAN MARKETS

There is a great deal more market information available on lubricants in general and biolubes in particular in Europe than in the US. Perhaps this is due to the higher level of 

environmental awareness. Bio-lubricants have been in use in Europe for over 20 years. 

This is driven by regulations in some countries and perhaps a “greener” view of the 

environment and the need for renewable materials in other countries as compared to the 

US. 
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The total market for all lubricants in Western Europe is about 1.6 billion gallons, according 

to several published estimates.

According to a Frost and Sullivan study in 2007, European Bio-lubricants Market, the 

estimated usage in 2006 of bio-lubricants was 127,000 tons, or about 40 million gallons. 

Growth was estimated at 3.7%/yr between 2000 and 2006. Volume growth is still small 

although revenue growth is larger because of the higher price of the bio-lubes.

The overall use of bio-lubes in the European Union was estimated at 1% of the total 

lubricant use according to Rolf Luther of Fuchs Oil, Europe. This would be 16 million 

gallons if the overall lubricant use suggested above is 1.6 billion gallons. This number is 

lower than the Frost and Sullivan estimate.

INFRA, France estimates the total bio-lubricant market in Europe at 3.2% of the total 

lubricant usage, which is closer to the Frost and Sullivan estimate.

In the EU, some countries are more bio-oriented than others. It is estimated that biolubricants in Germany are about 15% of the total. The Scandinavians are not far behind at 

about 11%. Other countries, such as, France, Spain and the UK are below 1%. 

The major vegetable oil in use in Europe for industrial products is rapeseed. However, not 

all the bio-lubricants are completely vegetable oil-based. In some countries, to get a label 

only requires that 50% of the oil is renewable. Thus, synthetic esters or even petroleum 

oils can be used in the formulation.

BIO-LUBRICANTS MARKETS IN THE UNITED STATES

MARKET DEFINITION

It is estimated that about 50% of all the oil used ends up in the environment. Petroleum –

based lubricants, which are the leading type of base oil used in this industry, are poorly 

degradable and represent an environmental hazard when released. This represents a 

strong incentive to provide lubricants that are biodegradable. In addition, the rapid 

increase in the price of petroleum products in recent years, the increased dependence on 

offshore sources, the declining rate of production from older domestic oil fields and the 

decrease in the rate of finding new reserves has prompted governments and individuals to 

press for renewable products as replacements for petroleum products where practical. 

The bio-lubricant industry is growing based on these pressures, environmental concerns 

and sustainability.

Bio-lubricants may be defined generally as materials that are based on biodegradable and 

renewable base stocks. However, this definition is not universally accepted. In some 

areas, only biodegradability is considered in the definition. For present purposes, biolubricants will be defined as biodegradable and renewable materials. 
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Bio-lubricants do not have to be composed entirely of vegetable oil base stocks. They can 

be products derived from renewable oils, such as the fatty acids from fats and oils, reacted 

with synthetic alcohols or polyols to produce esters that can be considered bio-lubricants. 

Also, the natural vegetable oils can be treated to produce a modified product that is still 

biodegradable and renewable. 

PRODUCT PERFORMANCE

Bio-lubricants based on vegetable oils have to overcome their inherent instability based on 

the presence of poly-unsaturated products in the natural oil to compete with products 

based on mineral oils. Great strides have been made since the original 1997 study. 

Soybean oil based products have been improved by chemical transformation, formulation

and improved additive technology. 

In addition, there have been several studies published showing the benefits of soybean 

oils in lubricant performance. See the article by Mathew T. Siniawski et al, from Loyola 

Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, published in the Journal of Synthetic 

Lubrication, 2007; 24; 101-110.

In spite of the improvements in the performance of bio-lubricants, the market for these 

products has been slow to develop. The reasons for this are price and the lack of 

regulatory pressures to change. Bio-lubricant products are generally more expensive than 

their mineral oil counterparts, with some notable exceptions, so without regulatory 

pressures it is difficult to convince a user to change from what they know to be acceptable 

performance from traditional mineral oil based products.

CHANGE IS COMING – LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

Act of 2002, Presidential Executive Order #13423 and the Federal Acquisition Regulations 

(FAR) require government agencies to give preference to the purchase of bio-based 

products in place of petroleum-based products when reasonably competitive and suited to 

the application. It has taken the USDA several years to develop the product lists and 

definitions of what are now referred to as BioPreferred products.

The BioPreferred program was initially created by the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

Act of 2002 (FSRIA) to increase the procurement and use of biobased products by 

establishing: 

1. A procurement preference program for Federal agencies and their contractors, and 

2. A labeling program to enable the marketing of biobased products.

As determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, biobased products are commercial or 

industrial products (other than food or feed) derived wholly or in significant part of biobased feedstocks including renewable agricultural materials (plant, animal, and marine 

materials) or forestry materials.
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The USDA has established a list of BioPreferred products, which can be accessed from 

the link http://www.biopreferred.gov/Catalog.aspx Participation in this registration 

process is voluntary, and producers of bio-based products need not submit their products 

to qualify for preferred procurement. At this time there are 200 lubricant and fluid related 

products in the database. The product categories and number of products currently in 

each category are shown below:

Hydraulic oil – 127

Metal working fluids – 20

Penetrating oils – 20

Grease – 18

Concrete/asphalt release agents –11

2-cycle engine oils – 4

Firearm lubricants – 2

Although the various Federal agencies are required to consider BioPreferred products in 

their purchasing, they do have some discretion when the BioPreferred products are 

considered to be too high priced or performance is not equal to the mineral oil products. In 

addition, it has been recently decided that a re-refined lubricant product shall be given 

priority over a BioPreferred product.

At the present time (September 2008), the USDA does not have a mechanism to track or 

verify the purchases of BioPreferred products by the different agencies. They are working 

on getting better tracking but now only have general comments from each of the agencies 

on what BioPreferred product they have purchased or tested. For example, the USDA has 

used or tested 2-cycle engine oils, hydraulic tractor fluids and soy-based inks. Other 

agencies indicate that they used or tested lubricants or hydraulic fluids. This does not do

anything to quantify the use of BioPreferred lubricants in government agencies.

The Federal Government is a very large purchaser of lubricants and fluids. Once the 

government agencies get this program more fully integrated, where purchases are 

transparent and data is easily obtained on the quantities and products purchased, this 

should be a major driver for sales of bio-lubricants.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGULATORY STATUS

OVERVIEW

Federal environmental regulations governing oil spill prevention, response planning, spill 

notification and cleanup make little distinction between petroleum oil and vegetable oil. By 

contrast, used oil waste management regulations exempt vegetable oil products. As a 

practical matter, however, many vegetable oil-based lubricants and fluids are not 

composed of 100% vegetable oil base stock, but rather are mixtures of petroleum and 

vegetable oils. In addition, finished vegetable oil-based products contain additives that may 

consist of regulated substances. Therefore, the actual federal environmental regulatory 

status of vegetable oil-based lubricants and fluids is more complicated than simply looking 
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at whether the regulations distinguish between petroleum oil and vegetable oil. Examples 

are cited below:

o Storing or managing large quantities of vegetable oil only, mixed 

petroleum/vegetable oil, or petroleum oil only lubricant or fluid products subjects a 

facility to essentially the same federal regulations governing oil spill prevention and 

response planning.

o Federal oil spill reporting requirements (into waterways or adjacent shorelines) do 

not differentiate between spills of vegetable oil only, mixed petroleum/vegetable oil, 

or petroleum oil only lubricant or fluid products. 

o Federal hazardous substances release reporting (to land or water) is based on the 

quantity of individual listed chemical substances contained in the spilled/released 

product. So any distinction in reporting would come not from what base oil stock is 

used but rather whether the spilled product contains any listed hazardous 

substance at levels high enough to require notification.

o Federal cleanup response regulations are site-specific taking into account the size 

and the nature of the spill. Responses can vary for spills of vegetable oil-based 

lubricant and fluid products compared to petroleum-based products based on 

ecotoxicity properties and rates of biodegradation.

o State regulations, rather than federal regulations, are most likely to cover the 

cleanup of the type of smaller releases, particularly to the land, associated with the 

use of lubricant and fluid products. Because state cleanup standards are usually 

risk-based, spills of vegetable oil-based products that are less toxic and more 

biodegradable are much less likely to require any significant cleanup action.

o Used lubricant and fluid products containing a mixture of vegetable oil and 

petroleum oil can be “recycled” under federal “used oil” management standards, 

which is a less costly approach than managing the used oil as a hazardous waste. 

Alternatively, a “used” vegetable oil only or a mixed petroleum/vegetable oil 

lubricant or fluid product that does not contain any contaminants that would classify 

it as a “hazardous waste” could be managed as a solid waste, an even more flexible 

and less costly management option.

In contrast to environmental regulations, federal procurement regulations do provide for a 

distinction between petroleum-based products and biobased products (including vegetable 

oil-based lubricants and fluids). Specific categories of biobased lubricant products, after 

being designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), are given purchasing 

preference by federal agencies. In addition, USDA is working to develop a “USDA Certified 

Biobased Product” label than can be used by manufacturers and vendors to identify and 

validate their products in the commercial and consumer marketplace as well as the federal 

marketplace.
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Finally, potential federal and state activity regarding the reporting and regulation of 

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well existing voluntary programs such as the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program, is increasing interest among 

industrial and commercial users in replacing or reducing the use of petroleum-based 

products. Vegetable oil-based lubricants and fluids can take advantage of this interest if 

life-cycle analysis can show reduced GHG impacts compared with petroleum based 

lubricants and fluids. 

FEDERAL PREFERRED PURCHASING AND PRODUCT LABELING

Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA), as amended 

by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008:

o Requires Federal agencies to give a purchasing preference to biobased products 

designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including products used 

in work performed under Federal agency contracts. (The preference applies unless 

an agency determines that the biobased products are not reasonably available 

within a reasonable period of time, fail to meet applicable performance standards, or 

are available only at an unreasonable price.)

o Requires USDA to establish a voluntary program and criteria for producers of 

biobased products to use a “USDA Certified Biobased Product” label. 

PREFERRED PURCHASING

To implement Section 9002, USDA established the BioPreferredSM program. Under the 

BioPreferredSM program, USDA has to date designated 33 item categories for preferred 

procurement, which include the following nine lubricant, grease and fluid product 

categories:

o Hydraulic fluids for mobile equipment (44% minimum biobased content)

o Penetrating lubricants (68% minimum biobased content)

o Fluid-filled transformers 

o Synthetic ester-based (66 % minimum biobased content)

o Vegetable oil-based (95% minimum biobased content)

o Metalworking fluids 

o Straight oils (66% minimum biobased content)

o General purpose soluble, semi-synthetic, and synthetic oils (57% minimum 

biobased content)

o High performance soluble, semi-synthetic, synthetic oils (40% minimum 

biobased content)

o 2-cycle engine oils (34% minimum biobased content)

o Hydraulic fluids for stationary equipment (44% minimum biobased content)

o Concrete and asphalt release fluids (87% minimum biobased content)

o Firearm lubricants (49% minimum biobased content)

o Greases

o Food grade grease (42% minimum biobased content)

o Multipurpose grease (72% minimum biobased content)
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o Rail track grease (30% minimum biobased content)

o Truck grease (71% minimum biobased content)

o Greases not elsewhere specified (75% minimum biobased content)

Other item categories under consideration by USDA for designation include: chain and 

cable lubricants, corrosion preventatives, forming lubricants, gear lubricants, multi-purpose 

lubricants, water turbine bearing oils, slide way lubricants, engine oil, heat transfer fluids, 

and turbine drip oils.

In addition, the federal government has amended its Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 

to add procurement preference provisions for biobased products. The FAR contains the 

uniform policies and procedures used by federal agencies when contracting to purchase 

products and services. The biobased provisions in the FAR include requirements that 

agencies consider the “maximum practicable use” of biobased products and services:

• when developing or revising their specifications, product descriptions and 

standards; 

• in describing government requirements for products and services; and 

• in developing contract source-selection factors.

Also, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 added a requirement that agencies 

report the following information annually to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

(OFPP): implementation actions and results of the agency’s review of its biobased 

procurement program, the number and value of contracts for the direct purchase of 

biobased products, the number of service and construction contracts that include biobased 

language, and the types and dollar value of biobased products used by contractors. In 

addition, the General Services Administration and the Defense Logistics Agency are 

required to submit each year to OFPP, to the maximum extent practicable, the types and 

dollar value of biobased products purchased by federal agencies.

The federal purchasing program for biobased products is beginning to take shape and 

reach a level of recognition among federal agencies that appears to be leading to 

increased purchasing of biobased products. As a result of federal action, a number of 

states are also beginning to implement their own purchasing preference programs. Similar 

to the role that the federal government has had in validating the purchase and use of 

recycled and recycled-content products, the federal biobased purchasing program can 

help validate and set an example for increased purchasing of biobased products in the 

industrial marketplace. 

LABELING PROGRAM

USDA is currently drafting proposed criteria for the “USDA Certified Biobased Product” 

labeling program. USDA is working to determine what characteristics a product will need to 

get a label and what information will be displayed on the label. Among the issues under 

discussion are: biobased content levels, testing procedures, performance information or 

requirements, life cycle information, environmental and health benefits information, who 
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can apply for the label, how long can the label be used, recertification processes, and 

compliance audit issues.

Once finalized, the program will allow manufacturers and vendors to use a USDA logo to 

identify their biobased products. The label will be available for finished products as well as 

intermediates used to make products. The intent of the program is to support product 

identification and use beyond the federal government and to educate and inform 

consumers. The USDA label, “USDA Certified Biobased Product,” is expected to provide a 

strong third party validation for biobased products. 

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES

The oxidative instability of soybean oil as well as rapeseed oil and other vegetable oils is 

due to the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids, as in linoleic acid and linolenic acid. 

Efforts have been made to modify the soybean oil to moderate the effects of these 

materials to provide a more stable material and a product more competitive in performance 

to mineral oil-based lubricants. The different approaches to this end include:

ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGY

Oil formulations, whether they are bio-based or mineral oil, are generally regarded as 

proprietary information. It is difficult to know the identity of the additives added to the 

soybean oil in those products that have been developed. Patents do not always give the 

answers. There are some indications from the patent literature that some investigators 

have developed stable products based on additive technology. An interesting study by 

Tribsys on the interaction of soybean oils with EP additives has been published.

OIL TREATMENT – CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND POLYMERIZATION

There are many different ways to modify the multifunctional vegetable oils. Some reported 

changes that address the polyunsaturated problem include alkylation, acylation, 

hydroformylation, hydrogenation, oligomerization (polymerization) and epoxidation. An 

article has been published by Manfred Schneider entitled Review – Plant-oil-based 

Lubricants and Hydraulic Fluids– available at ,"

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112736853/abstract ) . 

No commercially available products based on these modifications have been identified, 

except perhaps on polymerization. There is some indication that polymerization is used to 

produce a stable hydraulic oil for elevator applications. Although it is possible that the end 

product oils are acceptably stable in the intended applications for some of these reported 

transformations, the added processing cost is likely to be a hurdle limiting broad 

commercial adoption, except perhaps in the case of polymerization. 

Dow Chemical has developed a soy monomer that is currently being processed into a soy 

polyol for plastics and this monomer may be suitable, according to Dow, for chemical 

transformation into the lubricants market.
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Additional work in this regard was the subject of a PhD thesis published in 2005 by 

Phuong T. Tran of Michigan State University entitled Engineered Soy Oils for New Value 

Added Applications.

TRANSESTERIFICATION

This chemical transformation fits in with the above category but is isolated here because it 

is likely used in some bio-lubricant products. It is well know that improved lubricant 

performance can be achieved by replacing the glycerol part of the vegetable oil with other 

polyols, such a trimethylolpropane, neopentyl glycol or pentaerythritol. These materials 

are considered to be semi-synthetics and are biodegradable but not entirely renewable.

GENETIC MODIFICATION

Research on genetic modification of soybean oil and other vegetable oils has been an 

ongoing effort for many years. Major life science companies (Monsanto and its seed 

company holdings such as Asgrow and DuPont and its seed company Pioneer) have been 

active in the area, along with numerous university and USDA researchers, with 

considerable support from the United Soybean Board. Much of this research has focused 

on reducing both saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and some varieties are already 

being marketed with improved cold flow properties and somewhat increased oxidative 

stability.

DuPont and Monsanto at the USB Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) meeting in 2007 

reported that they continue to make progress on the introduction of mid to high oleic 

content soybean oils. DuPont has a transgenic high oleic (>80%) with less than 3% 

linolenic that is at stage gate six (out of eight stage gates) that is being commercially 

evaluated. Monsanto is already marketing a low linolenic (less than 3%) low saturate 

(about 9%) soy oil as VistiveTMI that has been developed by conventional breeding and is 

at stage gate three (out of four gates). Monsanto also reported they were developing 

VISTIVE III that is obtained by breeding VISTIVE I with a transgenic variety to achieve a 

high oleic IP basestock that could be more useful in lubricant applications. The reported 

target for the fatty acid profile in VISTIVE III is 73% oleic and less than 3% each of 

saturates and linolenic acid.

These advancements are significant for industrial lubricants and samples are being 

evaluated by Valvoline and others for use as high temperature engine oils and hydraulic 

fluids.

Monsanto and DuPont are also investigating the potential for elevating the total oil content 

above the current average of 11.7 pounds per bushel of beans.

One of the more promising developments for lubricants comes from DuPont/Pioneer. 

They have announced plans for the commercialization and sales of high oleic soybean oil 

(HOSO) in 2009. The soy varieties will be sold under the brand name TReUS®. The oil is 

desirable for food applications since it will not require hydrogenation to allow prolonged 

storage and thereby will allow food manufacturers to avoid both the transfat and saturated 

fat issues in food labeling. This product should be a valuable addition to the soybean oil 
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family. It has greatly reduced the chemical entities that generate the stability problems, 

linoleic and linolenic acids. These reductions are made up by the substantial increase in 

the oleic acid component. The following is a summary of the percentage composition 

expected in the new DuPont high oleic soybean oil (HOSO) product compared to 

unmodified soybean oil.

 Stearic / Palmitic Oleic Linoleic Linolenic

 16:0 &18:0 18:1 18:2 18:3

Conventional soybean oil 15 22 55 8

High oleic soybean oil 4-5 78-82 2-6 <3

The HOSO numbers above represent the composition range for the 16 test plots around 

the US in 2007. It is obvious that this new soybean oil will have a substantial increase in 

stability and performance over the unmodified material. It will carry the genetically 

modified (GM) label and the cost will likely be higher as these GM materials require special 

handling and isolation from the unmodified oils.

DuPont has advised that the crop in 2009 will be relatively small and that it is all 

committed. The future availability of this product should provide a boost for the biolubricant industry. Certainly, formulations will have to be modified to take advantage of the 

new soybean oil composition. In fact, this may provide an opening for those companies 

that have not been able to produce lubricants that meet the specifications required. This 

could be particularly true in the crankcase area where stability is a major problem. DuPont 

and Valvoline are understood to have discussed the availability and development of

crankcase oils from HOSO.

NEW APPROACHS

A potentially novel approach to improving the stability will be forthcoming from a new 

company, Elevance Renewable Science. This company is a joint venture between Cargill 

and Materia, a Pasadena, California based company. Materia is a company that 

specializes in metathesis chemistry. Metathesis is a bimolecular process involving the 

exchange of bonds between the two reacting chemical species, which results in the 

creation of products with similar or identical bonding affiliations. To illustrate, consider two 

chemical species, AB and CD, which react to give AD and CB:

AB + CD ! AD + CB 

There are many ABs and CDs in vegetable oils and this type of chemistry could react out 

the undesirable parts of the oil. This is an interpretation of their intent. The company was 

not prepared to discuss any of their future plans or current activities. It is believed that this 

chemistry could hold great promise for future modified soybean oils. One unresolved 

question is of the biodegradability of the new potential products and whether they would 

they be considered renewable or synthetic.

All of the above approaches are aimed at improving the stability and performance of 

soybean oil and come at some additional cost beyond the feedstock oil itself. This is part 
!$

of the reason for the higher price for the successful soybean oil products when compared 

to the mineral oil competition. Although mineral oils have seen dramatic price variations in 

recent years, so have vegetable oils. In some cases, the differences between the two

product bases have narrowed considerably.

MARKETS FOR BIO-LUBRICANTS

CRANKCASE OILS

Crankcase oils are by far the largest segment of the global lubricants market, representing 

a demand in excess of one billion gallons per year in the US alone. It is also a segment 

which is extremely demanding in performance requirements, particularly in long-term 

oxidative stability where vegetable oils face inherent barriers not yet successfully 

surmounted. While the cost and technical sophistication required for research and 

qualification to industry standards is forbidding, the longer term opportunity has drawn the 

attention of the major industry leaders.

Economic Factors

Valvoline is a company that wants to put engine oils on the market that competition does 

not have. A perfect example is engine oil for high mileage cars. Valvoline was first to 

market such an oil and started what became a new and profitable market segment. They 

saw the use of a renewable component as a way to come up with yet another unique 

product. Product development was helped by the United Soybean Board’s partial financial 

support of Valvoline’s own research efforts.

Technical Factors

The extremely high viscosity index and very low volatility of soybean oil (and other biofluids) attracted Valvoline interest because of the potential to allow savings in viscosity 

modifier treatment to obtain a given viscosity grade. In contrast, the need for additives to 

stabilize soybean oil at high and low temperatures was recognized.

Balancing Economic and Technical Factors

The cost of finished engine oil containing a bio-fluid and extra additives needed to be 

balanced with market profit opportunities. With changing soybean costs relative to 

petroleum base oil costs during early stages of the development program and currently

with the rapid changes in costs of all raw materials, economic considerations on any given 

day were recognized as uncertain at best. Instead, Valvoline took a strategic look at this 

objective. This approach, and continued USB support, maintained their reasonably high 

level of interest, which continues today.

Industry Standards

Reputable marketers of high quality engine oil take all steps necessary to meet 

performance standards set cooperatively by industry participants (oil marketers, additive 

suppliers, engine builders, etc.). Thus Valvoline has conducted extensive engine and 

bench testing in their quest for a formulation that fully meets the latest industry standards.

For the US market targeted by Valvoline for oil with a bio-based component, any or all of 

the following industry standards need to be met: American Petroleum Institute (API) SM, 
!%

API Energy Conserving and International Lubricant Standardization and Approval 

Committee ILSAC GF-4. The Sequence IIIG (oxidation stability), Sequence IVA (valve train 

wear), Sequence VG (low temperature sludge and varnish), and Sequence VIII (bearing 

corrosion) are engine tests required for API SM. In addition, the Ball Rust Bench Test is 

needed for these specifications. The Sequence VIB (fuel economy) is also required for

(ILSAC) GF-4 and for an API claim of Energy Conserving. Passing performance must be 

demonstrated in all of these tests to support API licensing against the three industry 

standards listed above. 

For mineral oils and poly alpha olefins, API guidelines allow engine test results on some 

oils to be used as appropriate in the evaluation of others. However, API recently 

reaffirmed that all required Sequence Engine Tests must be run and passed with oil 

containing any bio-fluid content.

Valvoline Formulation and Testing Experience

Of the varieties of soy available for product development, those with oleic content at the 

level found in conventional soybean oil were not considered because of known 

deficiencies in high temperature stability. Initial Valvoline studies were conducted with 

mid-oleic (53% oleic minimum) soybean oil. Even with this variety, stability at high 

temperature and maintaining good flow properties at low temperature were main hurdles 

that needed to be solved.

Valvoline solved the low temperature flow properties issues by using selected cold flow 

improver / pour point depressant additives. The exact additive combination used by 

Valvoline is considered proprietary.

Once cold flow issues were resolved, Valvoline tackled bearing corrosion as measured by 

the Sequence VIII engine test. Considerable work led to selection of a variety of corrosion 

and oxidation inhibitors that fully protect copper-lead bearings in engine service. Again, the 

exact additive combination used by Valvoline is considered proprietary. Further testing

indicated that other than the Sequence IIIG and Sequence VIB, engine test issues were 

relatively easy to resolve.

The Sequence IIIG remains the most critical hurdle. Passing this test also has critical 

bearing on passing the Sequence VIB fuel economy requirement. If oil oxidizes it thickens, 

reducing the oil’s ability to provide improved fuel economy. 

A reduction in soybean oil content from 20% to 5%, and further modification of 

antioxidants, improved Sequence IIIG performance, but a test pass was not yet obtained. 

At this point, Valvoline efforts shifted to engine oil with 5% high oleic soybean oil. 

Performance extremely close to a passing Sequence IIIG has been obtained. A new 

bench test, the ROBO, has been used to predict Sequence IIIG performance and to select 

the best candidate for testing. Other engine test strategies carry forward from mid-oleic 

testing to the high oleic soybean oil. Time will tell, but Valvoline is optimistic. Once 

passing engine tests are obtained, Valvoline will initiate field testing.
!&

Key Lessons of the Valvoline Program

Several key points are evident from experience gained during the Valvoline project:

o If formulators simply replace mineral oil base stock in a lubricant with a soybean or 

other bio-fluid component, even at low levels, performance of the lubricant will likely be 

degraded.

o Additive selection can regain performance lost by addition of a bio-fluid.

o The lubricant containing a bio-fluid component must be fully tested to prevent poor 

performance in customer equipment.

o A reputable oil marketer is needed to conduct the necessary testing in the laboratory 

and in field tests to ensure performance in customer equipment.

TRANSFORMER FLUIDS

Transformer dielectric fluid, also referred to as transformer oil, has undergone various 

significant changes over recent decades. At one time, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 

were used extensively. The fire retardant nature of this chemical was thought to be a 

highly desirable property. The disadvantage was its toxic nature and the lack of 

biodegradability. Any spills of the product dictated an extensive and expensive clean-up 

process to remove all traces of the material from the soil. In the 1970s, PCBs were 

banned due to their health and environmental hazards. New transformer oils were 

developed. They included naphthenic mineral oil which was the major product in early 

2000 when the total U.S. consumption was about 45 million gallons per year according to a 

Cargill report. More specialty type products were also developed and marketed including 

high molecular weight hydrocarbons, synthetic esters and silicone fluid manufactured by 

Dow Corning.

A soybean-based transformer fluid was devised in the early 1990s after a costly oil spill 

occurred at Waverly Light and Power, an electric utility in Waverly, Iowa. Realizing that his 

utility was surrounded by rich Iowa farmland, Glenn Cannon, Waverly’s general manager, 

knew there had to be an environmentally safe solution to petroleum-based transformer 

oils. He partnered with Dr. Lou Honary, Director of the University of Northern Iowa’s AgBased Industrial Lubricants Research Program (ABIL), ERMCO and Cargill to develop the 

soybean-based transformer fluid known as BioTrans 1000. The fluid was proven to 

enhance transformer performance, was environmentally friendly and could be used in a 

variety of electrical applications.

During 2003 the development of soybean oil as a transformer fluid was accelerated, under 

a Cargill program. This work was in part financed by the United Soybean Board to 

evaluate several properties and performance characteristics. The result was reported in 

detail at the September 22, 2004 United Soybean Board Technical Advisory Panel on 

Lubricants and also in a Cargill report “Development of Soybean Oil-Based Transformer 

Fluid” dated February 20, 2004.
!'

In September of 2004, it was announced that Cargill Industrial Oils and Lubricants and 

Cooper Power Systems would work together on the commercial development of Cooper’s 

soybean-based transformer oil EnviroTemp® FR-3TM. Cargill ceased production of its 

competitive dielectric fluid, BioTrans, in order to devote major effort towards the Cooper 

product. Six months later, an international expansion of the alliance covering the soybeanbased transformer oil was announced. Cargill began manufacturing Cooper’s 

EnviroTemp® FR-3TM at facilities around the world in order to meet growing demand.

The US market is also served by a vegetable-oil-based product offered by ABB under the 

Biotemp® brand.

The present generation of vegetable-oil-based transformer fluids may be characterized as 

premium products offering performance which in some respects is far superior to the 

conventional mineral-oil-based products they replace. In addition to biodegradability and 

low toxicity with corresponding spill remediation savings potential, they offer the safety 

advantages of a fire point above 300°C versus 145°C for the mineral oil product. The 

service life of a transformer is substantially increased due to the typically five times greater 

life of the insulating papers inserted between the windings. In contrast, the present 

generation of bio-based fluids are not as tolerant of extremely low temperatures as are the 

mineral oil products, typically limiting installations at present to exclude areas subject to 

extreme winter conditions. In addition, the excellent performance experienced in the US 

market is linked to the standard use here of sealed transformer systems; in Europe, the 

standard vented systems in use place a higher demand on oxidative stability of the fluid 

used.

Some examples of conversion to the relatively new soy-based transformer fluid were 

recently published:

Commonwealth Edison (Com Ed) is replacing 4000 transformers now using petroleumbased transformer fluid with new soy oil fluid and will continue to buy 4000 new soy oil 

insulated transformers each year and will buy additional soy containing ones for any oil 

transformers that must be replaced. Com Ed currently has more than 500,000 

transformers in service.

Xcel Energy, which serves eight Midwestern states from headquarters in Minneapolis, 

announced that it would switch to EnviroTemp® FR-3TM soy-based transformer oil 

produced by Cargill and sold by Cooper Power Systems. The company plans to use 

soybean oil in over 13,000 transformers. It joins several other large electric companies in 

making the change to soy transformer oil, such as Alliant Energy which announced its 

conversion to soy earlier. Based on their annual purchasing history of distribution 

transformers, Xcel Energy would avoid the use of approximately 336,000 gallons of 

mineral oil by specifying FR-3TM fluids.

It is apparent that the sales of soy-based transformer oils are off to a very good start. 

Future sales look promising.
!(

It is estimated by Cooper Power Systems that the current (2008) sales of soy-based 

transformer oil will be about six million gallons/year, increasing to 20 million gallons by 

2011.

The total size of the U.S. transformer oil market is estimated at about 60 million gallons per 

year. The Cargill product will be produced in the US, Brazil and elsewhere in order to 

serve the growing world market potential.

ELEVATOR HYDRAULIC FLUID

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and AgriTech, now Bunge/AgriTech, developed 

a soybean oil-based hydraulic fluid that met the requirements for the Statue of Liberty’s 

elevators, a high-visibility demonstration project. The fluid was approved for use in the 

Statue of Liberty and the technology was licensed from the ARS. The Bunge/AgriTech

Brands group sells this product broadly, although the commercial market has been slow to 

adopt this change. The product has the advantage of not requiring heating in the winter 

and cooling in the summer at the Statue of Liberty location, because of its high viscosity 

index. Their primary customers are universities (Penn State is a large consumer) and 

hospitals. Otis, the largest elevator company, has reportedly not as yet been a buyer. 

The price for these oils is about $15.00/gallon in drums compared to $9.50/gal for the 

corresponding mineral oil product. This price difference provides a competitive hurdle

today except where considerable weight is placed on environmental considerations. 

Another supplier of elevator oils is Hydro Safe Oil Division. They sell a range of viscosities 

for elevators. They have commercial customers as well as some government agencies. 

They expect to sell about 40,000 gallons this year. The Hydro Safe hydraulic oil is made 

from canola oil and is priced at $14.82/gallon in drums. They have been getting many

inquiries for their product and they expect their business to grow. It has been reported that 

the Army has tested their fluid for use in tanks and are expected to order significant 

quantities.

The market for elevator oils is substantial. There are about 800,000 elevators operated in 

the US and Canada according to the National Elevator Industries trade group, of which 

approximately 75% are hydraulic. A conservative estimate is that that the average 

elevator will require 400 gallons to fill the unit, so on a fill basis the utilization is about 240 

million gallons. The annual makeup rate is reportedly about 8%/yr, so the makeup volume 

can be estimated at about 20 million gallon/yr.

This is a substantial market potential and should attract the attention of the bio-lubricant 

business. The realistic hurdle in this market, like many others, is that there are no 

regulations to mandate adoption when the price is substantially higher for the bio-based 

materials. The Bunge and Hydrosafe products provide a benefit in stable viscosity over a 

range of temperatures, fire resistance, sustainability and biodegradability. The cost of a 

spill remediation using a mineral oil product could be an offset to the higher price of the 

base oil, although at present this benefit is subject to varying regional regulatory 

guidelines.
!)

The above is an example of a new commercially successful adoption of a soybean oilbased industrial product introduced since the original 1997 study.

OTHER HYDRAULIC FLUIDS

After crankcase oil, the hydraulic fluid area represents the largest volume potential. There 

are about 225 million gallons/yr of hydraulic oils sold in the US today. Growth is relatively 

flat so there is not much change in overall demand. 

Because this area has so much potential, most bio-lubricant suppliers have a range of 

products to meet the needs of this industry. Most contacts have indicated that this is a 

small but growing application area for bio-lubricants. The best estimate of the market 

share for bio-lubes in this sector today is about 1%. This number was not disputed by 

several contacts that are in or associated with this business.

If 1% is correct, this represents about 2 million gallons/year. Hydraulic oil bio-lubricants 

are used in some strategic areas such as national parks, military bases, national 

laboratories, golf course equipment, food services, some farm tractors and hydraulic 

elevators. It is the latter that is among the largest users of hydraulic fluids (see above).

METALWORKING FLUIDS

Another successful application of a soybean oil lubricant came about in the rolling oil area 

of metal working. Alcoa had a CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreement) with the USDA to develop a bio-based rolling mill oil. The development was 

successful and Alcoa is using this oil in four aluminum rolling mill operations around the 

world. They have also expanded the use of bio-based fluids in metal cutting and casting 

(mold release). Alcoa makes some of their own bio-fluids and buys some. They report

that the bio-based oil provides a cost savings compared with the traditional product. Part 

of this may be due to the carbon credits available in Europe.

Current usage for Alcoa is reportedly about 100,000 gallons/year, mainly in rolling mill oils. 

Significant growth is expected over the next 3-5 years.

Vegetable oil-based cooling and cutting oils have also found success. A June, 2008 article 

in Lubes ‘n’ Greases by Ralph Garcia of Houghton reports on the success of an 

unidentified vegetable oil in place of a mineral oil-based product at an Eaton plant. The 

bio-lubricant showed substantial savings in coolant waste stream treatment and disposal, 

biocide use, tool savings and increased grinding throughput. No numbers or product 

descriptions were provided. Houghton does not presently have a metal working fluid on 

the USDA BioPreferred list.

An interesting PhD thesis was published in 2006 by Shelie Miller entitled Comparative Life 

Cycle Assessment of Soybean Based and Mineral Oil Lubricants in Aluminum Rolling. A 

paper based on this research was presented at the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication 

Engineers (STLE) conference on May 15, 2005.
!*

2-CYCLE ENGINE OIL

At the time of the 1997 market study, it was considered that mineral oil-based 2-cycle 

lubricants were a prime example of a product that needed to be replaced, especially in

marine applications. These 2-cycle engines employ a pre-mix of fuel and lubricant which 

is regulated through carburetion. The engines were high emitters of unburned 

hydrocarbons, particularly from the oil. This resulted in large amounts of unburned 

hydrocarbons entering the waterways and the atmosphere.

In response to this, the EPA has proposed and is about to issue new regulations on the 

emissions from 2-cycle engines. See http://www.epa.gov/oms/regs/nonroad/marinesiequipld/420f07032.htm for the proposed standards. According to the National Marine 

Manufacturers Association (NMMA), this will be the end of the 2-cycle engines as they are 

known today; they cannot meet the strict emission standards being proposed.

In response to this, the marine engine industry has developed a new high pressure fuel 

injected engine that is more efficient, requires less lubricant and can meet the EPA 

emission standards being proposed. These E-TEC engines will replace all new 2-cycle 

engines of present design in 2010.

Because of the clean and efficient engines that are to be introduced, the pressure to find 

lubricant substitutes is diminished. There will be only small amounts of unburned

hydrocarbon from the oil, thus reducing the incentive for requiring bio-based lubricants.

BAR AND CHAIN OIL

The bar and chain oil market is small, estimated at 2-3 million gallons per year. It is a total 

oil loss application as the lubricant serves to externally lubricate the bar and chain of the 

saw. All the expelled oil enters the environment, so it is another area where it makes 

sense to replace the mineral oil products with bio-lubricants. This is done in Europe but 

the present US demand for bio-lubes in this application is very limited. The major chain 

saw marketers indicate that the choice is up to the consumer as they fill the chambers after 

the saw is purchased. There are bio-lubes available, but the price is higher than the 

mineral oil counterparts. The choice made so far is usually for the lower cost product. It 

is estimated that only about 5% of the bar and chain oil purchased is a biodegradable 

product. This amounts to about 100,000 gallons per year in the US.

A positive indication in this area is that the major chain saw company Stihl has reportedly 

been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about bio-based lubricants for their 

products. This may well be due to the Federal requirement to consider bio-based products 

for all lubricant applications.

WIRE ROPE GREASE

At the time of the earlier study, lubricants for wire rope applications were considered to be 

an area that had some regulations in effect. It was reported that Coast Guard regulations 

prohibited ships from conducting operations that produced a visible sheen in the 

waterways. This sheen developed because the wire rope, used for anchors, dredges and 

related applications, had grease lubricants on and in them. There were penalties imposed 
#+

if these sheens were generated, except if biodegradable lubricants were employed. This 

market was then estimated to be small, about 500,000 gallons per year, for lubricants 

added during manufacture and perhaps an equal amount used as dressing in use. The 

total is therefore small, likely a million gallons per year in the US. 

One lubricant supplier reported that their customers complained to the Coast Guard that 

the cost of the bio-lubricants was too high for them to continue their use. Apparently, the 

regulations were then eased.

However, another lubricant supplier indicated that the regulation has not eased. It was 

indicated that very little bio-based lubricant is used at present in this sector. It is up to the 

customer for the wire rope to specify that they want bio-lubricants in their rope, but this 

does not happen often as yet.

RAILROAD LUBRICANTS

There are two types of rail-related lubricants that are total loss-type products, top-of-rail 

lubricants and gauge face greases. The top-of-rail lubricants are used to control friction; 

they are not there for wear control. Neither petroleum nor bio-based materials reportedly

meet their needs. The product that they use is a water-based inorganic material that dries 

and controls friction. The market for this area is small, about 600,000 gallons per year.

The gauge face grease application can use bio-based products. Norfolk Southern has 

evaluated a soybean oil product but reportedly did not adopt it. Dr. Honary indicated that 

ELM does currently sell this product to the railroads. The market potential for these 

greases is claimed to be about 10 million gallons per year.

SUPPLIER COMPANIES AND PRODUCT LINES

The BioPreferred program operated by the USDA lists all bio-based lubricants that 

companies choose to register. There are some 200 products currently listed in the 

categories as follows:

Hydraulic oils – 127

Metal working – 20

Penetrating oils - 20

Greases - 18

Concrete and asphalt release agents – 11

2-cycle engine oils – 4

Firearm lubricants – 2

There are a large number of companies associated with these categories. The 

BioPreferred list for each category established by the USDA with a list of products, the 

companies offering them and a comparison of their features can be accessed from the link

http://www.biopreferred.gov/Catalog.aspx

It is interesting to note that of the 20 largest lubricant suppliers around the world, only two

companies have an oil on the BioPreferred list; they are ExxonMobil and Fuchs.
#!

For reference, the 20 largest lubricant manufacturers are shown below, in decreasing 

order of capacity:

Shell ; ExxonMobil ; BP ; Chevron ; Petrochina

Sinopec ; Lumoil ; Total ; Fuchs ; Nippon Oil

Idemitsu ; Valvoline ; Conoco Philips ; Petronas

CPC ; Petramina ; PDVSA ; Repsol ; SK Corp. ; Indian Oil

CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK

Bio-lubricants have been increasingly successful in displacing mineral oil products in the 

areas of transformer fluids, elevator and other hydraulic fluids and metal rolling oils. 

Except for transformer fluids, the use of bio-lubricants only represents a small part of the 

total amount of lubricant used at this time. The amounts of bio-lubricants used per year in 

these areas are estimated at:

Transformer fluids: 6,000,000 gallons

Hydraulic fluids: 2,000,000 gallons

Bar and chain oils: 100,000 gallons

Railroad greases: 50,000 gallons

Wire Rope: 20,000 gallons

2-cycle oils: 20,000 gallons

The present lack of US regulations mandating the use of bio-lubricants in environmentally 

sensitive areas is major hurdle to be overcome of this area. The requirements of the 2002 

Farm Bill and subsequent legislative initiatives, which are just coming into force in the 

lubricants area, is a start toward an “Eco-labeling” program such as is prevalent in Europe. 

Although marginally effective today, it should become more of a factor in the future.

The lack of regulatory pressures which mandate adoption and generally premium prices 

makes it difficult for suppliers to compete and for these areas to grow. This situation is 

changing as successes get more publicity. These vegetable-based lubricants are 

beginning to be considered as true alternatives to mineral oil products. The absence of biolubricant products from the major lubricant suppliers suggests that they have yet to decide

that this area is large enough to justify their commercial participation at present.

It is believed that the bio-lubricant area will grow faster in the next years ahead than has 

been experienced in the years since the initial 1997 study. There are two main factors that 

would make this happen.

1- The availability of commercial quantities of high oleic soybean oil (HOSO) will lead 

to more stable and better performing products in all classes of lubricants. This 

would make soybean oil-base products more functionally competitive with rapeseed 

and mineral oil-based lubricants.

2- The federal government BioPreferred program will require all agencies to report 

quantitative data on their use of such products - which ones and how much. This 
##

transparency will promote the use of these products in all areas of the government 

as well as in the private sector.

As a forecast, it is estimated that growth of bio-based lubricant products and fluids will be 

in the range of 5-8% per year.

APPENDIX

Environmental and Regulatory Review

Federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations

Reporting Requirements – Oil Spills and Hazardous Substance Releases

Spill / Release Cleanup Requirements

Waste Management

Environmental Fate Of Used Soybean Oil Lubricants
#$

APPENDIX

ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGULATORY REVIEW

FEDERAL OIL POLLUTION PREVENTION REGULATIONS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the authority of the Clean Water 

Act and the Oil Pollution Act, regulates spill prevention, preparedness, and response 

planning for both petroleum and non-petroleum oil that has the potential to be or is 

discharged into U.S. navigable waterways and adjacent shorelines. Requirements include:

o The Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule. This rule 

requires facilities that have oil storage capacity above certain sizes (i.e., above 

ground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 gallons and buried oil storage 

capacity greater than 42,000 gallons) to prepare and implement plans to prevent 

any discharge of oil into or upon navigable waters of the United States or adjoining 

shorelines. The plans must include: operating procedures the facility implements to 

prevent spills; control measures to prevent oil from entering navigable waters or 

adjoining shorelines; and countermeasures to contain, cleanup, and mitigate the 

effects of an oil spill. 

o The Facility Response Plan (FRP) Rule. This rule requires facilities (ones that 

store or use oil that could reasonably be expected to cause “substantial harm”1 to 

the environment if discharged into or on navigable water) to prepare plans that 

demonstrate a facility's preparedness to respond to a worst-case oil discharge. 

Oil is defined to mean oil of “any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to: fats, oils, 

or greases of animal, fish, or marine mammal origin; vegetable oils, including oils from 

seeds, nuts, fruits, or kernels; and, other oils and greases, including petroleum, fuel oil, 

sludge, synthetic oils, mineral oils, oil refuse, or oil mixed with wastes other than dredged 

spoil.” Vegetable oil is defined as “ a non-petroleum oil or fat of vegetable origin, including 

but not limited to oils and fats derived from plant seeds, nuts, fruits, and kernels.”

In 1995, Congress passed the Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act. The Act directed federal 

agencies that issue or enforce a regulations to differentiate between and establish 

separate categories for animal fats, vegetable oils, and other oils, including petroleum oil; 

and apply different standards to different classes of fats and oils based on differences in 

physical, chemical, biological, and other properties, and in the effects on human health and 

the environment.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 1 According to EPA, a facility may pose "substantial harm" for the purpose of the Facility Response Plan (FRP) rule if 

it: (1) has a total oil storage capacity greater than or equal to 42,000 gallons and it transfers oil over water to/from 

vessels; or (2) has a total oil storage capacity greater than or equal to one million gallons and meets one of the following 

conditions; (a) does not have sufficient secondary containment for each aboveground storage area; (b) is located at a 

distance such that a discharge from the facility could cause "injury" to fish, wildlife, and sensitive environments; (c) is 

located at a distance such that a discharge from the facility would shut down a public drinking water intake; or (d) has 

had, within the past five years, a reportable discharge greater than or equal to 10,000 gallons.
#%

In 1997, EPA denied a petition previously filed by several trade organizations and 

agricultural groups requesting that EPA amend its Facility Response Plan rule to create a 

different regulatory program for non-petroleum, “non-toxic” oils different from the program 

for petroleum oils and “toxic” non-petroleum oils. EPA took the position that, even using 

the evaluation criteria under the Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act (i.e., physical, chemical, 

biological, and other properties and environmental effects), “petroleum oils, vegetable oils, 

and animal fats share common physical properties and produce similar environmental 

effects” when discharged into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. EPA states that 

“like petroleum oils, vegetable oils and animal fats and their constituents can:

o Cause devastating physical effects, such as coating animals and plants with oil and 

suffocating them by oxygen depletion

o Be toxic and form toxic products

o Destroy future and existing food supplies, breeding animals, and habitats

o Produce rancid odors

o Foul shorelines, clog water treatment plants, and catch fire when ignition sources 

are present

o Form products that linger in the environment for many years.”

Therefore, for the purpose of its Oil Pollution Prevention regulations (i.e., the SPCC and 

FRP rules), EPA regulates both petroleum oil and vegetable oils in generally the same 

manner. In a few limited situations, EPA treats vegetable oils differently. Under the FRP 

rule, which was revised in 2000, EPA included “a more specific methodology for 

calculating planning volumes for a worst case discharge of animal fats and vegetable oils.” 

According to EPA, “the methodology is similar to that currently used in the rule for 

petroleum oils, but the factors in two new tables are more appropriate for estimating onwater and onshore recovery resource needs for animal fats and vegetable oils.”

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS - OIL SPILLS AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE 

RELEASES

Federal regulations require release and spill reporting for both oil and hazardous 

substances. There are separate requirements for oil spills and hazardous substance 

releases. 

o Oil Spill Notification. Facilities are required to report immediately to the National 

Response Center discharges of harmful quantities of oil to navigable waters. A 

“harmful quantity” of oil is defined as “any quantity causing a film or sheen on the 

receiving waters, any quantity causing a sludge or emulsion to be deposited 

beneath the surface of the water or upon the adjoining shorelines, or any quantity 

that violates an applicable water quality standard.” 

o Hazardous Substance Release Notification. For hazardous substances, the 

federal government requires reporting to the National Response Center when a 

listed substance is released to the environment at an amount that equals or 
#&

exceeds the “reportable quantity” (RQ) for that substance. There are about 800 

substances that have RQs. “Release” is defined to mean any spilling, leaking, 

pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, 

dumping, or disposing into the environment....” Neither petroleum oil nor vegetable 

oil are listed hazardous substances, however, constituents of petroleum (e.g., 

benzene, toluene, xylene) are listed as hazardous substances and other 

substances that might be constituents of additives used in ether petroleum or 

vegetable oil-based formulated products are also listed.

Most states also have their own reporting requirements that cover oil and hazardous 

substances spills to water and/or the land. At a minimum, for oil spills into waterways these 

requirements are at least as stringent as the federal spill requirements and for releases of 

hazardous substances to land or water these requirements are at least as stringent as the 

federal hazardous substance release notification requirements. A number of states, 

however, have more stringent spill reporting requirements that require reporting at lower 

release quantities. In general, state spill reporting regulations do not differentiate between 

petroleum oil and vegetable oil.

Therefore, for the purposes of spill reporting:

o Federal oil spill reporting requirements (into waterways or adjacent shorelines) do 

not differentiate between vegetable oil and petroleum oil. 

o Federal hazardous substances release reporting (to land or water) is based on the 

quantity of individual listed chemical substances contained in the spilled/released 

product. To the extent that vegetable oil-based lubricants contain none of the listed 

hazardous substances or contain them at lower levels than petroleum-based 

products, spills of vegetable oil-based products may not need to be reported under 

federal hazardous substance release notification regulations.

o A number of states have more stringent reportable quantities for spills of oil and/or 

releases of hazardous substances so that smaller spills/releases may need to be 

reported to states for both petroleum and petroleum-based products and vegetable 

oil and vegetable oil-based products.

SPILL / RELEASE CLEANUP REQUIREMENTS

Federal cleanup requirements for oil spills and hazardous substance releases are 

contained in the Federal National Contingency Plan (NCP). 

o For oil spills, the NCP directs the on-scene coordinator (OSC) “to determine 

whether a release poses a substantial threat to the public health or welfare of the 

United States based on several factors, including the size and character of the 

discharge and its proximity to human populations and sensitive environments. In 

such cases, the OSC is authorized to direct all federal, state, or private response 
#'

and recovery actions. The OSC may enlist the support of other federal agencies or 

special teams.”

o For hazardous substance releases, the NCP provides that “decisions of action will 

be based on threats to human or animal populations, contamination of drinking 

water supplies or sensitive ecosystems, high levels of hazardous substances in 

soils, weather conditions that may cause migration or release of hazardous 

substances, the threat of fire or explosion, or other significant factors effecting the 

health or welfare or the public or the environment.”

For spills not covered by the federal response and reporting requirements, state cleanup 

standards would apply. State standards, particularly as they relate to land releases, are 

often based on meeting certain risk-based cleanup levels (e.g., the level of hazardous 

constituents remaining in the soil after a release).

In summary:

o The federal NCP does not provide a one size fits all cleanup response. Responses 

are based on the size and the nature of the spill. Responses could, and in many 

cases will (particularly in the case of small and medium size spills), vary for 

vegetable oil/vegetable oil-based lubricant products compared to 

petroleum/petroleum-based lubricant products based on ecotoxicity properties and 

rates of biodegradation.

o State regulations are most likely to cover the type of smaller releases, particularly to 

the land, associated with the use of lubricant products. Because state cleanup 

standards are usually based on risk, spills of vegetable oil-based products that are 

less toxic and more biodegradable are much less likely to require any significant 

cleanup action. Practical experience with state and local government regulators’ 

responses to spills of vegetable oil-based hydraulic fluids, for example, support this 

conclusion.

WASTE MANAGEMENT (see also Environmental Fate of Used Soybean Oil Lubricants in 

following Appendix section)

At the federal level, “used oil” is managed under a set of standards (40 CFR 279) 

developed by EPA under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). “Used 

oil” is defined by EPA as “any oil that has been refined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, 

that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminated by physical or chemical 

impurities.” Animal or vegetable oils (including when used as a lubricant) are excluded

from EPA’s definition of used oil. 

Oils refined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, that have been used as lubricants, 

hydraulic fluids, heat transfer fluids, buoyants, or for other similar purposes (e.g., engine 

oil, transmission fluid, metalworking fluids and oils, electrical insulating oil, and industrial 
#(

process oils) and that are sent for “recycling” in accordance with EPA’s used oil regulations 

are excluded for the federal definition of “hazardous waste.”2 Used oil that is not recycled 

in accordance with federal standards is subject to being managed as a hazardous waste if 

it meets the regulatory definition of a hazardous waste (e.g. contains levels of lead, 

cadmium or other EPA listed metals and chemicals above certain levels). 

EPA’s used oil regulations allow for four types of “recycling”:

o reconditioning the oil on site to remove impurities;

o using the oil as a feedstock going into a petroleum refinery;

o re-refining the oil into a new base stock; or 

o processing and burning the oil for energy recovery.

Generators, collection centers, transporters, transfer facilities, processors and refiners, and 

marketers are all subject to the used oil management standards. In particular, generators 

of used oil who send their oil for recycling are subject to the following requirements:

o meeting all applicable Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures program 

requirements;

o storing the used oil in tanks, containers, or RCRA-regulated units (e.g., lagoons, 

pits, surface impoundments); 

o marking “used oil” on the container and tanks; 

o keeping tanks and containers in good condition and free from leaks; 

o responding to, stopping, and cleaning up releases; and 

o having used oil transported by a regulated transporter or meeting self-transporter 

requirements.

Under current federal regulations, therefore, the waste management requirements for 

vegetable oil- based lubricant and fluid products require careful review. If a formulated 

product contains no petroleum or synthetic base oils, it would not be subjected to the used 

oil management standards. However, the vegetable oil-based product would still need to 

be assessed after its use to determine if it contains any contaminants that would classify it 

as a “hazardous waste.” Assuming the product contained no such contaminants, it could 

be managed as a solid waste, providing a potentially broader array of waste management 

options for the used product (such as burning in small waste heat units). 

If a formulated product contains both vegetable oil base stock and petroleum or synthetic 

oil base stock, under federal regulation the waste management of the used product would 

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be subject to the used oil management standards. Recycling used oil under the federal 

management standards would exempt the generator from managing the oil as a hazardous 

waste and therefore provide a less costly method of managing the waste oil. Alternatively, 

as with a product made using a 100% vegetable oil base stock, if the “mixed” oil product 

after it is used does not contain any contaminants that would classify it as a “hazardous 

waste,” it could be managed as a solid waste.

In addition to federal standards, certain states have adopted used oil management 

standards that are more stringent than the federal standards. Also, the regulatory status of 

vegetable oil under state programs could vary from the federal regulations and would need 

to be assessed separately. 

ENVIRONMENTAL FATE OF USED SOYBEAN OIL LUBRICANTS

The environmental fate of used lubricating oils made with a soybean oil base stock 

somewhat parallels that for 100% based petroleum oils. Used petroleum oils are typically 

collected and are either re-refined, blended as a supplemental thermal energy feedstock 

for industrial furnaces, sprayed on coal for dust control or used as rust prevention or 

friction reduction coatings. Factors influencing the choice for environmental fate include:

• Availability of a facility to re-refine used oil

• Transportation distance to a re-refining oil facility

• Availability of an industrial furnace with appropriate air pollution control equipment 

to handle emissions from used oil combustion 

• Internal uses for used oil

• Economics for the life cycle phases of oil production, use and reuse

Environmental Fate Choices

Re-refining

When economically feasible, used oils and lubricants are collected and transported to a 

petroleum oil re-refining facility. There are no facilities dedicated to re-refining biobased 

lubricants due to their relatively low volumes. Most collection practices do not segregate 

biobased oils from petroleum oils and lubes unless the volumes dictate otherwise. If any 

used oil collection segregation is employed, it is usually for oils that contain emulsified or 

oil/water mixtures. Thus, it can be expected that used soybean oil lubes would ultimately 

be mixed with petroleum based lubes either at the customer’s facility or in the collection 

truck before going to the re-refining facility. 

Current re-refining facilities for used petroleum oils are not equipped to separate and 

recover the soybean oil lube fraction from a mixture of oils. Petroleum re-refiners are 

reluctant to accept greater than 2% biobased lubes in their incoming mixtures due to a 

concern for degrading the oxidation stability of the base oil they produce. However, there 

is no data available to substantiate this allegation. 
#*

If soybean oil lubricant is present in an incoming mixture, the soybean oil component 

would be separated from the desired petroleum fraction due to the higher boiling point 

difference of the soybean oil. This higher boiling fraction would include higher boiling 

petroleum fractions and be used as an industrial fuel oil feedstock. 

Industrial Furnace Applications

Where re-refining facilities are too distant for economical transport, used oils are 

commonly used as a low cost fuel feedstock for industrial furnaces such as aggregate 

dryers at asphalt plants, cement kilns and blast furnaces. These types of furnaces are 

fitted with the appropriate kind of air pollution control equipment to limit particulate 

emissions. These types of furnaces can accommodate a high ratio of soybean oil 

lubricants in the fuel feedstock. 

Other Uses

Used soybean oil lubricants can be use for applications such as dust control for coal and 

aggregate transported in rail cars and storage piles and as a “once-through” lubricant for 

oven bearings and chains. 

Summary

Based on economics and ease of handling, the most common “end-of-life” option for used 

soybean oil lubricant products is to utilize them as a supplemental fuel source for industrial 

furnaces. This option offers the widest availability of beneficial users and is competitive 

with used petroleum based lubricant environmental fate options.