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POL 3. Slide 1. Welcome to the Principles of Lubrication, module 3, an introduction to the origins of oil, and base oil production. Slide 2. In this module, we will cover the following areas. Where does oil come from? What’s in a barrel of crude oil? Lubricant base oil production through to finished product. Slide 3. Lubricant origins. To produce a finished lubricant, we require a base oil and a series of additives to enhance the performance. The majority of lubricant base oils (approximately 85%) are derived from petroleum or crude oil, which is a fossil fuel, and a non-renewable source of energy. It is a natural product and formed from the remains of dead microscopic sea organisms and plant life. Over a long period of time they were covered by layers of mud and silt. Eventually these mud layers were converted to rock as temperature and pressure increased. As a result of the increasing temperatures and pressures, the trapped organisms and plant life changed into what we now know as crude oil and natural gas. So where does the majority of Petroleum, or crude oil come from? The trapped crude oil and gas, form what is known as oil reserves or reservoirs, and are located all over the world. The quality and quantity varies by region or location. The images show two typical oil drilling / pumping rigs, one ocean based oil platform and one land based. Both types of rig are used to tap into and pump crude oil from below the surface of the earth. Slide 4. This image shows the trapped oil and gas below the earth’s surface. The oil and gas is trapped in layers of porous rock, and prevented from rising and escaping to the surface by a non-porous cap rock. The oil floats on top of a layer of saltwater and forms natural underground reserves or reservoirs. As you can see from the image, drilling rigs are used to tap into the reservoirs and extract natural gas, crude oil or both. Slide 5. Global consumption. The world consumes approximately 37 million metric tonnes of lubricants per year, and that is expected to rise to 37.5 million metric tonnes by 2025. As we have said previously, approximately 85% of this volume originates from petroleum / crude oil production. The quality and value of crude oil varies from one oil field to another, and is generally graded by its sulphur content and weight or density. It is graded from low sulphur or sweet, to high sulphur or sour, and low density or weight to heavy. The crude oils with a lower sulphur content and lighter weight, generally attract premium prices, as they require less technical and energy consuming refining processes to produce the end products. Slide 6. Approximately half of the global lubricant consumption is from the automotive sector. The key factors resulting in the growth of the market are.  Increasing sales of new vehicles in emerging economies.  Rising consumer awareness regarding lubricants. On the basis of product type, the market is divided into. Process Oils, Greases, Gear Oils, Engine Oils, Metalworking fluids, General Industrial Oils, Transmission and Hydraulic Oils. Slide 7. For every barrel of crude oil that is produced, only a small amount is refined into base oils for use as lubricants. So what can each barrel of crude oil be refined to produce. Petrol, ~42%. Diesel, ~22%. Jet Fuel, ~9%. Fuel oil, ~5%. Liquified petroleum gases, ~4%. Other products, ~18%, of which only 3% are suitable to be used for lubricant manufacturing. Slide 8. Here are a couple of images of typical fractionating towers or columns at an oil refinery. They are used to refine crude oil into the products mentioned on the previous slide. On the next slide we will give you an overview of the refining process. Slide 9. We’ll now take you through the basics of the refining or distillation process. The crude oil is heated to temperatures of more than 600oC. The mixture of liquid and vapours are pumped into the fractionating tower, where a process called distillation takes place. The many constituents that make up crude oil have different boiling points, so some will vapourise and some will remain in liquid form. The heavy unevaporated liquid flows out of the bottom of the tower and is known as a residue. This is used to produce bitumen / asphalt, and heavy fuel oils. As the remaining vapours are cooled, some will condense back into liquids, and some will be extracted as gases or vapours for further processing. As you can see from the diagram, the lighter products are extracted towards the top of the tower, and the heavier products are extracted towards the bottom of the tower. Lubricating oils are extracted at approximately 300 to 370oC. The lubricating oils are then sent for further refining and dewaxing processes to remove impurities, improve the chemical structure and enhance their properties. These processes range from solvent refining through to hydro-processing and hydro-processing and hydro-cracking. The finished products are known as Base oils. These base oils are used as the building blocks for today’s modern lubricant manufacturing. Slide 10. The finished product. So, to produce the finished lubricant, we blend base oils with a range of additives. The choice of base oils and additives are blended to specified individual product formulations. The type of base oil and choice of additives enhance the properties of the lubricant for the intended use or application. These product formulations have been developed over time by FUCHS R&D chemists, to meet the demands and specifications of all types of applications and industries. All products are QC checked at various stages of production before being released to the customer for their intended use. We’ll cover a little bit more about the types of base oils and additives in the coming modules. Slide 11. Thank you. You have completed this module.