Why Do You Choose Environmentally Friendly Lubricants?
The reason to choose environmentally friendly lubricants is to prevent pollution and save the Environment. Lubricants are a fluid structure to live the machine and its devices. Lubricants that are used in machines are designed in such a way to keep each and every part movable and healthy. But at the same time the lubricant should be designed as environmentally friendly.
Micro drops of lubricants spread on nature as oil mist and can be harmful to the environment. It can seriously damage the soil and aquatic plants.
How Biodegradable Lubricants are Determined?
Biodegradable lubricants must meet a few standards like ISO 9439 or OECD 301B etc. If a lubricant degrades by more than 60% within 28 days, then it is readily biodegradable.
All petroleum-based lubricants are inherently biodegradable, but all are not readily biodegradable due to failing the standards. Normally, petroleum-based lubricants are degradable 20-30% in 28 days.
To determine biodegradability lubricants also meet the test of toxicity. There are lots of tests that involve fish, daphnia, and other organisms. To become biodegradable, it must be “low toxicity”.
What about Vessel General Permit?
Vessel General Permit has been developed to prevent the pollution in marine environments. It is a clean water national Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit. The Act covers 26 different types of discharges that could be harmful to aquatic ecosystems. It has few strict guidelines to design the lubricants to reduce the threat of the water environment. Vessel General Permit not only covers the threat of the marine environment, it includes the parts that are close to ports also. It is an unavoidable Act that must be followed by all marine lubricant manufacturers.
What is Primary and Ultimate Biodegradation?
Biodegradable lubricants are classified into primary and ultimate by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Primary degradation breaks down the compounds into pieces after going through the procedure, the chemical compounds are not able to perform the function. On the other hand, the Ultimate degradation breaks down the compounds completely into carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts. In both the cases the main compound of the lubricant must be broken down physically.