Kobe Lubricants Co., Ltd. will support you from the selection of the optimum lubricating oil to the purchase. | Kobe Lubricants Co., Ltd. also handles environmentally friendly biodegradable grease.

Since our founding in 1972, we have provided accurate advice and support based on our track record of satisfying over 1,000 customers, and we promote everything from product selection to purchase.

Biodegradable lubricants that can be decomposed into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms are commercially available as environmentally friendly lubricants. Previous biodegradable lubricants were made from refined rapeseed oil or sunflower oil, and the biodegradability of the lubricant depended heavily on the type of base oil. However, while these were excellent in terms of biodegradability, their performance as a lubricant fell short. Therefore, fatty acid esters and polyethers, which are chemically synthesized from natural fats and oils, are being used to achieve both biodegradability and lubricant performance.
Currently, fatty acid esters are widely used, as they offer a good balance between biodegradability and lubricating performance. The fatty acids that are the raw materials for fatty acid esters are mainly derived from vegetable oils, and the use of polyether lubricants is on the decline due to issues such as compatibility with sealing materials and instability when mixed with mineral oils. Vegetable oils are widely used in Europe as an ideal base oil, as they combine a nearly 100% biodegradability rate with low cost. However, to compensate for disadvantages such as poor oxidation stability of vegetable oils, improved vegetable oils have recently been developed using genetically modified seed technology.

Biodegradable grease is used in a wide range of places, including construction machinery, agricultural machinery, sliding parts of machinery that operates around oceans, rivers, and lakes, and railway points. The degree of degradability depends on the type of base oil, but the type of thickener must also be taken into consideration. Recently, biodegradable greases with excellent long life and extreme pressure properties, as well as biodegradable greases that can be used over a wide temperature range, have become available on the market.