Innovation & Environment News

Asia's PAO manufacturer announces a new high-performance product; Lubrizol launches a flex fuel protector; Volvo and Mack are near zero-emission certified; new bio products and designations for industry and agriculture; and Valvoline offers a "fuel proof guarantee".

Idemitsu Kosan, the only Asian manufacturer of alpha olefins outside the Middle East, announced the development of a new high-performance Poly Alpha Olefin (PAO) to add to its Linealene product range.

Idemitsu claims the new product, which will launch in the first half of 2010, offers low-temperature fluidity and low volatility not available from conventional PAOs.  The high-performance PAO was developed using Idemitsu's metallocene catalyst technology.

Protection from ethanol damage is in increasing demand for gasoline engines.  If the new ILSAC GF-5 specification is finalised, all oils will be required to provide ethanol fuel, or flex fuel, protection.  In anticipation, Lubrizol announced their trademarked Trident H-E-I engine oil additive.  Lubrizol claims the new product will prevent the problem of oil, ethanol and water separating in the engine which can cause catastrophic engine failure.

In the trucking sector, Volvo and Mack engines have become the first truck manufacturers to gain US EPA certification for the world's most stringent diesel emissions standards without the use of emissions credits.  The two truck makers' heavy-duty 11 and 13-litre diesel engines have been certified by both the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) for 2010.

Volvo were also in the news for their own diesel development, this time an FE Hybrid engine initially designed for refuse trucks.  The diesel/electric hybrid uses a 200kg lithium ion battery with a potential lifespan of eight years.

In Spain the Teknike-IK4 technology centre is set to trial a new generation of biodegradable industrial lubricants.  The BIOVESIN project will help to develop industrial lubes that will compete favourably with their petroleum derived counterparts.  IN the announcement, Tekniker claims that 95% of industrial oil currently used in Europe is non-biodegradable, with half a million tons being consumed annually in Spain alone.  The tests will focus on crop-based bio-lubes with the aim of encouraging local product production.

The US Department of Agriculture extended it Federal purchasing list of preferred biobased products by more than 1,000- a 20% increase on the existing list.  The products join the 4,600 already tagged for consideration as preferred purchases by Federal agencies, contractors and the military.  The new additions include chain and cable, forming and gear lubricants.

And finally, Valvoline has linked up with vehicle monitoring experts Tiwi to launch a pilot programme for truck fleets call "The Fuel Proof Guarantee".  Aimed at large fleets of over 200 Class 8 vehicles, the trail puts Tiwi technology in the cab to monitor driver behaviour and notify both the driver and their dispatch centre of any violations, such as speeding, or aggressive driving.  A fuel economy baseline is established for the fleet, with every vehicle then changed to Valvoline's latest engine lubricants.  Valvoline and Tiwi are "95% confident" that the combination of in-cab telematics and high-performance lubricants will deliver a guaranteed mpg fuel economy improvement of up to 4% across the fleet over 120 days, or the equipment is removed and costs of the lube changes reimbursed.