LUBRICATING OIL COMPOSITIONS

Abstract: A lubricating oil composition which comprises (I) a base oil selected from mineral oils having an aromatic content of not higher than 30 wt%, synthetic oils which are free of arom­ atic rings in the structural units, and mixtures thereof, and (II) 0.01 to 5.0 wt%, based on the total composition, of N-p-­ branched alkylphenyl-alphanaphthylamine which has an alkyl moiety having 12 or 15 carbon atoms and which is der­ ived from a propylene oligomer.

Description: This invention relates to lubricating oil compositions utilizable as a lubricant in various fields of industries and more particularly to such lubricating oil compositions which have good oxidation stability and in which sludges are difficultly producible. As is well known in the art, mineral oils having a low-aromatic content and synthetic oils, e.g. poly-alpha-olefin oils, which are free of aromatic rings in the structural units thereof, are themselves poor in oxidation stability. When antioxidants are added to the mineral oils or synthetic oils, the resulting lubricating oil compositions exhibit high oil stability. However, the problem involved in these compositions is that the solubility of antioxidants in the oils is low. Antioxidants invariably undergo a change in quality when their function is exhausted during their use, presenting a problem if substances formed by their oxidation are left as a sludge. For development of long-life lubricating oils, importance should be placed on how to balance a degree of formation of sludge and a life of the oil against oxidation. Although phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine is known as a good antioxidant, it has the drawback that the solubility is low and that the solubilities of deteriorated-by-oxidation substances, dimers, trimers and polymers of the substances are lower. Accordingly, even when high oxidation stability is required, the naphthylamine which has high oxidation stability cannot be used in large amounts in order to improve the oxidation stability of lubricating oils. In order to inprove the solubility of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine, British Patent No. 1,552,720 discloses a process of alkylating the phenyl group with a propylene trimer. Alternatively, United States Patent No. 3,696,851 discloses a process of alkylating with a propylene dimer or a dimer or trimer of isobutylene. The N-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamines obtained by alkylation of the phenyl group with a propylene or isobutylene dimer or trimer exhibit an improved solubility in oils but have the disadvantage that the solubility of deteriorated-by-oxidation substances is still low. We have paid our attention to the high antioxidizing property of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and made intensive studies to overcome the drawbacks that such a compound is liable to form a sludge in lubricating oils. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a lubricating oil composition which comprises a specific type of substituted phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine as an antioxidant for lubricating oils whereby the prior art drawbacks are all overcome. Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricating oil composition which has very high oxidation stability and can suppress formation of sludges. A further object of the invention is to provide a lubricating oil composition which comprises, as an antioxidant, an N-substituted phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine having a branched alkyl group as the substituent which is derived from an oligomer of propylene. The above objects can be achieved, according to the invention, by a lubricating oil composition which comprises (I) a base oil selected from the group consisting of mineral oils having an aromatic content of not higher than 30 wt%, synthetic oils having no aromatic rings in the structural units, and mixtures thereof, and (II) 0.01 to 5.0 wt%, based on the total composition, of an N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine of the following general formula in which R represents a branched alkyl group having 12 or 15 carbon atoms and derived from an oligomer of propylene. The N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine is obtained, for example, by reaction between a propylene oligomer having 12 or 15 carbon atoms and phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine. This reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of an activated clay catalyst or a mixed catalyst of activated clay and aluminium chloride. The base oils used in the present invention should be mineral oils having an aromatic content of 30 wt% or below and/or synthetic oils which do not contain any aromatic rings in the structural units. The mineral oils suitable for the purpose of the invention have generally a dynamic viscosity at 40°C of from 10 to 10,000 centistokes 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² m²/s, preferably from 20 to 1,000 centistokes 2x10⁻⁵ to 10⁻³ m²/s. In general, mineral oils are lubricating oil fractions obtained by distillation of crude oils. Preferably, the fractions are refined by suitable techniques such as refining with solvent, a sulfuric acid treatment, refining by hydrogenation, a clay treatment and the like. The mineral oil should have an aromatic content of 30 wt% or below, preferably 20 wt% or below. The aromatic content used herein is intended to mean a value which is determined according to a method prescribed in ASTM D 2549-81. The synthetic oils used in the practice of the invention should be free of any aromatic rings in the structural units of the oil and have generally a dynamic viscosity at 40°C of from 10 to 10,000 centistokes (10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² m²/s). Examples of the synthetic oils include: poly-alpha-olefin oils, such as polybutene, decene-1-oligomers and the like, obtained by homopolymerization or copolymerization of alpha-olefins having from 4 to 30 carbon atoms; monoesters of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids and aliphatic monohydric alcohols, typical of which are butyl stearate, methyl laurate and the like; diesters of aliphatic dibasic acids and aliphatic monohydric alcohols such as di-2-ethylhexyl sebacate, dioctyl adipate, ditridecyl glutarate and the like; aliphatic monocarboxylic acid esters of aliphatic polyhydric alcohols such as trimethylolpropane caprylate, trimethylolpropane pelargonate, pentaerythritol 2-ethylhexanoate, pentaerythritol, pelargonate and the like; polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol and the like, their monoalkyl ethers, dialkyl ethers, monoalkyl esters or dialkyl esters; cycloparaffins such as cyclododecane, hidroindane, bicyclohexyl, tercyclohexyl and the like; alkylcycloparaffins such as dicyclohexylbutane, dicyclohexylpropane and the like; and mixtures thereof. The N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine used in the present invention is a compound of the following general formula in which R represents a branched alkyl group having 12 or 15 carbon atoms and derived from an oligomer, i.e. tetramer or pentamer, of propylene. In the practice of the invention, it is important that R be a branched alkyl group derived from the oligomer of propylene. If the branched alkyl group is derived from an alpha-olefin, the antioxidant property of the resulting product is significantly inferior to the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine or the component (II) used in accordance with the invention. In addition, when the branched alkyl group is derived from oligomers of olefins other than propylene, e.g. isobutylene, the resulting product is unfavorably apt to precipitate by oxidation as a sludge in lubricating oils. Moreover, when the branched alkyl group derived from an oligomer of propylene has carbon atoms less than those defined in the invention, the resultant product is liable to precipitate by oxidation as a sludge in lubricating oils. On the other hand, when the number of carbon atoms in the oligomer exceeds the range of the invention, the antioxidizing property becomes poorer since the ratio of the functional group in the molecule becomes smaller. Thus, both cases are unfavorable. The N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine used as the component (II) or an antioxidant in the practice of the invention can be prepared by any known techniques. In view of the ease in preparation, it is preferred to use the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction between phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and a propylene oligomer. For the reaction, a variety of catalysts are usable including metal halides such as aluminium chloride, zinc chloride, iron chloride and the like, and acid catalysts such as sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, phosphorus pentaoxide, boron fluoride, acid clay, activated clay and the like. Of these, activated clay is preferred because the resulting product does not assume any color, the reaction rate is high, and the removal of the catalyst is easy. In order to further improve the reaction rate, a mixed catalyst of activated clay and aluminium chloride in a ratio by weight of from 3:1 to 10:1 is more preferably used. The Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction is generally effected in the following manner. One mole of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamin, from 2 to 10 moles, preferably from 3 to 5 moles, of a propylene oligomer and from 50 to 200 g, preferably from 80 to 150 g of activated clay or other catalyst are placed into a reaction container equipped with a temperature detector, a nitrogen-introducing pipe, a reflux condenser and an agitator, followed by heating to 140 to 190°C while agitating. When aluminium chloride is used in combination as the catalyst, it is added portion by portion in an amount of 1/3 to 1/10 of the amount of the clay used. Thereafter, the reaction is continued at the temperature, during which sampling is effected at given intervals of time for analysis through a gas chromatography or an IR spectrophotometry. The heating and agitating operations were continued until the content of unreacted phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine was below 10%. After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was cooled, from which the catalyst was removed by filtration by suction. The resulting filtrate was distilled under reduced pressure to distill off unreacted propylene oligomer. The residue was chromatographically purified to obtain a viscous transparent liquid of an intended N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine. The amount of the naphthylamine (II) should be from 0.01 to 5.0 wt%, preferably from 0.1 to 3 wt%, of the total composition. Amounts less than 0.01 wt% are unfavorable because only a poor effect of the naphthylamine (II) is obtained. On the other hand, when the amounts exceed 5 wt%, further effects cannot be expected with a poor economy. If necessary, the lubricating oil composition. of the invention may further comprise other additives ordinarily used for these purposes including, for example, antioxidants, detergent-dispersants, pour point depressants, viscosity index improvers, oiliness improvers, hardwearing agents, extreme pressure agents, corrosion inhibitors, metal-deactivators, antifoamers, emulsifiers, demulsifiers, bactericides, colorants and the like. These additives are described in detail, for example, in The Lubricaticn Journal, Vol. 15, No. 6 or "Additives For Petroleum Products", written by Toshio Sakurai and published by Sachi Bookstore. The lubricating oil compositions of the invention are utilizable as lubricants requiring oxidation stability including, for example, motorcar engine oils, engine oils for agricultural machines, diesel engine oils, diesel engine oils for ships, industrial multipurpose lubricating oils, turbine oils, hydraulic oils, spindle oils, film bearing oils, refrigerator oils, gear oils, automatic transmission oils, cylinder oils, dynamo oils, machine oils, cutting oils, metal processing oils and the like. The present invention is more particularly described by way of examples, which should not be construed as limiting the present invention thereto. Comparative examples are also described. Synthetic Example 1 32.9 g (0.15 moles) of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and 15 g of activated clay having a specific surface area of 235 m²/g and an acidity of 1.5 mg-KOH/g were placed in a four-necked flask and heated to 150°C in a stream of nitrogen. While agitating at a high speed, 101 g (0.6 moles) of a propylene tetramer was gradually added in 1 hour. After completion of the addition, the reaction system was reacted for further 5 hours under high-speed agitation at 150°C. After completion of the reaction, the activated clay was removed by filtration and the resulting filtrate was distilled under reduced pressure to distil off unreacted propylene tetramer. The resultant residue was chromatographically purified to obtain 48.7 g of N-p-branched dodecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine in the form of a transparent, yellow, viscous liquid. The viscosity of the compound was found to be 1,612 centistokes (1.612x10⁻³ m²/s) at 40°C and the yield based on phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine was 84%. Synthetic Example 2 The procedure of Synthetic Example 1 was followed except that 126 g (0.6 moles) of a propylene pentamer was substituted for the propylene tetramer, thereby obtaining 51.6 g of intended N-p-branched pentadecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine. The viscosity of the compound was 2,182 centistokes (2.182x10⁻³ m²/s) at 40°C and the yield based on the phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine was 80.2%. Synthetic Example 3 32.9 g (0.15 moles) of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine, 15 g of activated clay having a specific surface area of 235 m²/g and an acidity of 1.5 mg-KOH/g and 3 g of aluminium chloride were placed in a four-necked flask and heated in a stream of nitrogen at 150°C. While agitating at a high speed, 101 g (0.6 moles) of a propylene tetramer was gradually added in 3 hours. After completion of the addition, the reaction system was agitated at a high speed while keeping at 150°C, to react for further 1 hour. After completion of the reaction, the activated clay and aluminium chloride were removed by filtration and the resulting filtrate was transferred to a dropping funnel to wash it with water therein. After completion of the washing, the filtrate was distilled under reduced pressure to distil off unreacted propylene tetramer. The resultant residue was chromatographically purified to obtain 52.6 g of N-p-branched dodecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine in the form of a transparent, yellow, viscous liquid. The viscosity of the compound was found to be 1,628 centistokes (1.628 x 10⁻³ m²/s) at 40°C and the yield based on phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine was 90.6%. Comparative Synthetic Example 1 32.9 g (0.15 moles) of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and 15 g of activated clay having a specific surface area of 235 m²/g and an acidity of 1.5 mg-KOH/g were placed in a four-necked flask and heated in a stream of nitrogen at 150°C. While agitating at a high speed, 75.7 g (0.6 moles) of a propylene trimer was gradually added in 1 hour. After completion of the addition, while keeping at 150°C, the system was continuedly agitated at a high speed and reacted for further 5 hours. After completion of the reaction, the activated clay was removed by filtration and the resulting filtrate was distilled under reduced pressure to distil off unreacted propylene trimer. The residue was chromatographically purified to obtain 44.3 g of intended N-p-branched nonylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine in the form of a transparent, yellow, viscous liquid. Comparative Synthetic Example 2 32.9 g (0.15 moles) of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and 3 g of aluminium chloride were placed in a four-necked flask and heated in a stream of nitrogen at 140°C. While agitating at a high speed, 101 g (0.6 moles) of an isobutylene trimer was gradually added in 5 hours. After completion of the addition, the reaction product was dissolved in 100 ml of benzene and the solution was washed with water to remove the aluminium chloride, followed by subjecting to a rotary evaporator to remove the benzene solvent. The resultant residue was further distilled under reduced pressure to remove unreacted isobutylene trimer, followed by recrystallization from an ethanol aqueous solution to obtain 21.2 g of intended N-p-branched dodecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine as white crystals having a melting point of 116°C. Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-4 Deteriorated-by-oxidation substances of the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamines (II) obtained in Synthetic Examples 1 to 3 (which substances are formed when the naphthylamine derivatives serve as an antioxidant) were added, in amounts indicated in Table 1, to a refined mineral oil having an aromatic content of 7 wt% and a dynamic viscosity of 34.4 centistokes (3.44x10⁻⁵ m²/s) at 40°C and also to a poly-alpha-olefin oil (decene-1-oligomer) having a dynamic viscosity of 30.7 centistokes (3.07x10⁻⁵ m²/s) at 40°C. The solubilities of the substances were evaluated (Examples 1 to 3). The results are shown in Table 1. For comparison, as indicated in Table 1, commercially available antioxidants including phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and N-p-branched octylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine prepared by using an isobutylene dimer as an alkyl source, the N-p-branched nonylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine obtained in Comparative Synthetic Example 1, and the N-p-branched dodecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine (alkyl source in each of these Synthetic Examples: isobutylene trimer) obtained in Comparative Synthetic Example 2 were each evaluated for the solubility of deteriorated-by-oxidation substances in base oils. The results are also shown in Table 1. The deteriorated-by-oxidation substances of the phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamines were formed in the following manner using the R. F. Bridger method (J. Org. Chem. Vol. 33, No. 12 (1968)). 0.05 moles of phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine or an N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine was dissolved in 100 ml of acetone and cooled to 0°C. 2.65 g of potassium permanganate was gradually added to the solution in 5 hours, followed by stopping the cooling and allowing it to stand at room temperature for 15 hours. During this, the system was kept in an atmosphere of nitrogen. The resultant manganese dioxide was removed by filtration through a filter paper and the acetone was distilled off from the filtrate, followed by dissolution of the residue in 100 ml of benzene, washing with water and removal of the benzene by distillation. The resultant product was subjected to an analysis of an IR absorption spectrum, a GPC analysis and a mass spectrometric analysis. From the results of these analyses, the product was found to be mainly composed of deteriorated-by-oxidation substances and dimers and trimers thereof. Examples 4-6 and Comparative Examples 5-8 In order to determine an antioxidizing property of the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamines (II) obtained in Synthetic Examples 1 to 3, these compounds were each added, in an amount indicated in Table 2, to a refined mineral oil of the same type as used in Examples 1 to 3. The resulting lubricating oil composition was subjected to a rotating bomb oxidation test as prescribed in ASTM D 2272 under conditions of a test temperature of 150°C and an oxygen pressure of 13 kg/cm² (1275 kPa) and by the use of a copper wire catalyst. The antioxidizing property was evaluated by a time before the oxygen pressure lowered to 1.8 kg/cm² (176.5 kPa, (Examples 4-6). The test results are shown in Table 2. For comparison, the antioxidizing property of the phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine and the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamines used in Comparative Examples 1 to 4 was also assessed (Comparative Examples 5 to 8). The results are also shown in Table 2. It will be noted that in Comparative Examples 5 to 7, the compounds indicated in Table 2 are added in such large amounts as will raise a practical problem, i.e. such large amounts will be sufficient to form deteriorated-by-oxidation substances with a fear of forming a sludge. This will be understood from the results of Comparative Examples 1 to 3 in Table 1. As will be apparent from the results of Table 1, the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamines which are each used as one of the essential ingredients according to the invention are advantageous in that the substances formed by oxidation of (he naphthylamines do rarely form a sludge. Accordingly, it is possible to add them, as an antioxidant, in large amounts to lubricating base oils. In contrast, the commercially sold antioxidants, i.e. phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine (Comparative Example 1) and N-p-branched octylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine (Comparative Example 2), are significantly inferior to the compounds of Examples 1 to 3 with respect to the solubility of the deteriorated-by-oxidation substance. This means that when these commercial antioxidants cannot be used in large amounts because sludges may be formed. Moreover, with N-p-branched nonylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine (Comparative Example 3) in which a propylene oligomer is used as an alkyl source as in the present invention except that the alkyl group has less carbon atoms, or with N-p-branched dodecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine (Comparative Example 4) in which an isobutylene oligomer is used as the alkyl source having such carbon atoms within the scope of the invention, the solubilities of deteriorated-by-oxidation substances of these compounds are inferior to the compounds (II) of the invention. The results of Table 2 reveal that the lubricating oil compositions of Examples 4 to 6 have the advantage that since the compounds (II) of the invention and their deteriorated-by-oxidation substances have good solubilities in the oil, the compounds can be added in arbitrary amounts without a fear of sludge formation. As will be apparent from the results of the antioxidizing property in Example 4, if high oxidation stability is required, the amount of the compound (II) can be increased to satisfy the requirement. Some of the compositions of Comparative Examples 5 to 8 are similar in antioxidizing property to the composition of the invention using the compounds (II). However, the amount of the compounds used in the comparative compositions must be limited from the standpoint of the sludge formation as will be apparent from the results of Comparative Examples 1 to 4. Thus, the lubricating oil compositions for comparison cannot exhibit so high an oxidation stability as the compositions of the invention. In the compositions of Comparative Examples 5 to 6, the antioxidant compounds are added in Table 1 in such large amounts that sludges may be formed, and thus the antioxidizing property of the compositions for comparison is not practically so high as is shown in Table 2.

Claims: 1. A lubricating oil composition which comprises (I) a base oil selected from the group consisting of mineral oils having an aromatic content of not higher than 30 wt%, synthetic oils having no aromatic rings in the structural units, and mixtures thereof, and (II) 0.01 to 5.0 wt%, based on the total composition, of an N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine of the following general formula in which R represents a branched alkyl group having 12 or 15 carbon atoms and derived from an oligomer of propylene. 2. A lubricating oil composition according to Claim 1, wherein said N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine is N-p-branched dodecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine. 3. A lubricating oil composition according to Claim 1, wherein said N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine is N-p-branched pentadecylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine. 4. A lubricating oil composition according to any preceding claim, wherein said base oil is a mineral oil having an aromatic content of not higher than 30 wt% and having a dynamic viscosity of from 10 to 10,000 centistokes (10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² m²/s) at 40°C. 5. A lubricating oil composition according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said base oil is a synthetic oil having a dynamic viscosity of from 10 to 10,000 centistokes (10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² m²/s) at 40°C. 6. A lubricating oil composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the amount of the N-p-alkylphenyl-alpha-naphthylamine ranges from 0.1 to 3 wt%.

Inventors: ISHIDA, NOBORU, TAKASHIMA, HIROYUKI, YOKOYAMA, NOBUO
Applicants: NIPPON OIL CO. LTD.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: C10M133
IPC codes: C10M133