FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to food grade, low friction additives to be incorporated
into oil based lubricants.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The food manufacturing industry is constantly striving toward higher levels of performance
by increasing manufacturing efficiency and decreasing manufacturing time. Among the
improvements in the industry are faster manufacturing line speeds and higher operating
temperatures. Both of these conditions can negatively affect the longevity and maintenance
of the chains, gears and other movable parts utilized in the manufacturing process.
Current lubrication technologies consist of graphite and/or additives, however these
lubricants are not suitable for uses which may have incidental food contact. Further,
bakery oven applications may experience temperatures as high as 1000°F and existing
food grade base oils can not perform at these extreme temperatures. Consequently,
there is a need within the industry for food grade lubricant additives that will perform
in the higher temperatures and other harsh conditions encountered during the food
manufacturing process. Such lubricant additives would provide longer lubrication intervals,
longer equipment life, and reduced maintenance and energy costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention discloses a food grade, low friction additive for use with
oil-based lubricants. The additive comprises boron nitride in combination with a dispersant
and an oil carrier.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0004] Food and other manufacturing processes utilize machinery consisting of chains, gears
and other moving parts that require a high level of lubrication. The quality of the
lubrication is critical to ensure the proper functioning of the equipment. Improperly
lubricated equipment will have significant down time and require more frequent replacement
and repair than properly lubricated equipment. Equipment utilized in food manufacturing
processes has the further requirement that its lubricants must be approved for contact
with food, thus severely limiting the potential lubricant ingredients. Oil-based lubricants
are frequently utilized in the industry, however such lubricants require additional
low friction additives to properly perform in the increasingly harsh environments
encountered during the manufacturing processes. While it is stated throughout the
application that the lubricant additives of the present invention are for use in food
grade applications, it is to be understood that these lubricant additives may also
be utilized in non-food grade applications where desired.
[0005] The lubrication additive of the present invention comprises boron nitride in combination
with one or more dispersants and one or more oil carriers. The boron nitride is preferably
a food grade hexagonal boron nitride having a particle size in the range of about
0.1 to about 10 microns with an average particle size in the range of about 1 to about
2 microns. One such boron nitride is AC6003, commercially available from GE Advanced
Materials. The boron nitride component comprises in the range of about 0.5 to about
50 weight percent of the additive and preferably in the range of about 5 to about
20 weight percent of the additive.
[0006] The dispersant for the lubrication additive must be one that creates a stable food
grade colloidal dispersion. Among the dispersants that may be utilized are alkylated
polyvinylpyrrolidone modified with an α-olefin. Preferably the alkyl component of
the polyvinylpyrrolidone varies from C-4 to C-30 linear moiety with concentrations
in the range of about 10 to about 80%. One such dispersant is commercially available
as GANEX V-216 from ISP. The dispersant may also be alkylated polyvinylpyrrolidone
modified with eicosene, commercially available as GANEX V-220 (from ISP), alkylated
polyvinylpyrrolidone modified with tricontanyl, commercially available as WP-660 from
ISP, or alkylated polyvinylpyrrolidone modified with hexadecane, commercially available
from ISP as GANEX V-516. Other examples of dispersants that may be employed include
synthetic esters such as glycerol dioleate, isopropyl oleate, glycerol mono-oleate
and mixtures thereof. Examples of such dispersant are PRIOLUBE 1406; PRIOLUBE 1407;
PRIOLUBE 1408; PRIOLUBE 1409; and PRIOLUBE 1412, commercially available from Uniqema.
The dispersant component comprises in the range of about 1 to about 30 weight percent
of the additive and preferably in the range of about 5 to about 20 weight percent
of the additive.
[0007] The oil carrier must be compatible with the dispersant. Preferably one or more synthetic
carriers are utilized. Such synthetic carriers include polyalphaolefin and polyalkylene
glycol. Food grade polyalphaolefins include SPECRASYN, commercially available from
ExxonMobil and SYNFLUID, commercially available from Chevron Phillips. Commercially
available polyakylene glycols include EMKAROX, commercially available from Uniqema,
and PLURASAFE, commercially available from BASF. Synthetic carriers such as these
are capable of providing proper lubrication additive properties under high temperatures
and harsh conditions. The synthetic carrier component comprises in the range of about
45 to about 99 weight percent of the additive and preferably in the range of about
70 to about 80 weight percent of the additive. Non-synthetic oil carriers, including
but not limited to, food grade white oils may also be used.
[0008] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the lubricant additive of the present
invention is combined with an oil-based lubricant to form a lubricant package suitable
for use in high temperatures and other harsh conditions. Exemplary oil-based lubricants
to which the additive may be added include, but are not limited to, commercial-type
oil-based lubricants. The method for forming such a lubricant would be to add the
desired amount of the lubricant additive to an oil-based lubricant.
[0009] The invention may be further described by the following example which is merely to
illustrate the invention and does not limit the scope of the invention.
Example. Lubricant additives were made according to the following process. Boron nitride
was added to the dispersant and thoroughly mixed. The initial processing may be completed
by use of a commercial low shear mixer or kneader or via high speed dispersion using
a cowles blade. The dispersion is continued for at least 14 hours using cooling water
in a mill jacket to form a paste. When the boron nitride powder has been thoroughly
mixed, any remaining dispersant should be added along with sufficient oil to thin
the composition to a pourable consistency in the range of about 13 to about 15% solids.
The blend is then filtered or centrifuged to maintain a maximum particle size of about
5 microns. Once this particle size is achieved, the material may be further thinned
to the desired solids level.
[0010] For testing purposes, the additive concentrates were added to various carriers to
form lubrication packages with about 1 to 2 weight percent solid lubricant additive.
The lubrication packages are set forth in Table 1.
Table 1. Lubrication Package Formulations
Material |
A (wt%) |
B (wt%) |
C wt%) |
D (wt %) |
E (wt %) |
Boron Nitride |
|
1 |
|
0.2 |
1 |
Graphite |
|
|
1 |
|
|
PTFE |
|
|
|
0.8 |
|
Mineral Oil |
|
|
99 |
|
|
Ester |
|
|
|
99 |
|
Polyalkylene Glycol |
|
99 |
|
|
|
Polyalphaolefin |
100 |
|
|
|
99 |
[0011] The lubrication packages listed in Table 1 were tested to determine their lubricating
properties by measuring the amperage used by a motor while rotating a metal cylinder
against a stationary cylinder. The lubrication packages were tested along with comparative
formulation A, which is polyalphaolefin. The lubrication package was applied to the
cylinders and the amperage was measured every five minutes. The test results are shown
in Table 2.
Table 2. Lubricant additive test results.
Formulation /Time |
Amperage 5 Minutes |
Amperage 10 Minutes |
Amperage 15 Minutes |
Amperage 20 Minutes |
Amperage 25 Minutes |
Amperage 30 Minutes |
A |
10 |
10 |
9.8 |
9.7 |
9.7 |
10 |
B |
9.5 |
9.3 |
9.5 |
9.5 |
9.1 |
9. |
C |
9.6 |
9 |
8.9 |
8.9 |
8.9 |
8.9 |
D |
8.1 |
7.9 |
7.9 |
7.9 |
7.9 |
8 |
E |
8.1 |
7.9 |
7.9 |
7.9 |
7.6 |
7.5 |
[0012] As shown in Table 2, the lubrication packages containing boron nitride provide superior
lubrication, as evidenced by a reduction in the amperage required to rotate the cylinders.
[0013] Many modifications and variations of this invention can be made without departing
from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The specific
embodiments described herein are offered by way of example only, and the invention
is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope
of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
1. A lubricant additive comprising boron nitride, one or more dispersants and one or
more oil carriers.
2. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the oil carrier comprises one or more synthetic
carriers.
3. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the boron nitride is hexagonal boron nitride
having a particle size in the range of about 0.1 to about 10 microns.
4. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the dispersant is alkylated polyvinylpyrrolidone
modified with one or more of the group consisting of a-olefins, eicosene, tricontanyl,
hexadecane or mixtures thereof.
5. The lubricant additive of claim 4, wherein the alkyl component of the polyvinylpyrrolidone
has a linear moiety in the range of from C-4 to C-30.
6. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the dispersant comprises on or more synthetic
esters.
7. The lubricant additive of claim 6, wherein the synthetic ester is selected from the
group consisting of glycerol dioleate, isopropyl oleate, glycerol mono-oleate and
mixtures thereof.
8. The lubricant additive of claim 2, wherein the synthetic carrier is selected from
the group consisting of polyalphaolefin, polyalkylene glycol and mixtures thereof.
9. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the lubricant additive is suitable for
food grade applications.
10. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the lubricant additive comprises in the
range of about 0.5 to about 50 weight percent boron nitride.
11. The lubricant additive of claim 10, wherein the lubricant additive comprises in the
range of about 5 to about 20 weight percent boron nitride.
12. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the lubricant additive comprises in the
range of about 5 to about 30 weight percent dispersant.
13. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the lubricant additive comprises in the
range of about 5 to about 20 weight percent dispersant.
14. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the oil carrier comprises in the range
of about 45 to about 99 weight percent synthetic carrier.
15. The lubricant additive of claim 14, wherein the oil carrier comprises in the range
of about 70 to about 80 weight percent synthetic carrier.
16. An oil-based lubrication package comprising an oil-based lubricant and the lubricant
additive of claim 1.
17. The lubricant additive of claim 1, wherein the oil carrier comprises one or more white
oils
18. A method for forming an oil-based lubrication package comprising the step of adding
the lubricant additive of claim 1 to an oil-based lubricant.
19. A food-grade lubricant additive comprising boron nitride, one or more dispersants
and one or more synthetic oil carriers.