The Interesting History of Synthetic Oil

When thinking about synthetic oil, you wouldn’t really think about where it came from, or why it was originally used. To fully understand the history of synthetic oil, you need to know what exactly it is. Synthetic oil is a lubricant made of synthetic or man made compounds. This is used as a substitute for petroleum, and it provides superior mechanical as well as chemical properties which are not found in traditional mineral oils that are put into your vehicle.

Where It Started

There was a German doctor that began to experiment with different lubricants that held the properties, and minerals, of natural oils, but lacked in the tendencies to gel when the lubricant was being used in the engine department. So he needed to make sure the lubricant would still stay liquid while under hot or cold circumstances. By doing this research, it led to the preparation of over 3500 esters in the late 1930s, and early 1940s. Various products were used to create the first oils, such as: diesters, polyol esters, and banana oil. In the United States, at the same time, a doctor was working on synthesizing esters, and diesters to use in vehicles.

First Applications

The first oils that were created were used in aircraft engines during World War II in Germany and the US. This helped the aircrafts function, while using the limited resources that were at hand. By using the mix of adipic acid ester with poly (ethylene) oil, the engines would start with ease in the winter, and eliminated soot deposits in the oil radiator. This was used widely by the time 1944 came. There were variations of the oil that was used, this was to help vehicles move more efficiently, and also helped to eliminate the need for all the other components needed to keep the engines running smoothly. The oil meant that there was no need to keep stopping in order to service the engine.

Using It Today

Getting all the different types of oils out there can be confusing and difficult at times. This can be stressful, and may need to be reassessed. You want to choose the oil that works best in your vehicle's engine to ensure the maximum performance out of it. The doctors in both America, and Germany wanted the best out of the vehicles, and believed they should have a jump start on their vehicles performance. Having this, they had a better chance to get to where they had to go. While everyone was also fighting the war that needed to be fought without vehicle interruption from the engine seizing up because there weren’t the right components in it. Government vehicles ran better, and were serviced less because of the oil that was produced, and being shipped around to everyone. Using simple components to help engines in vehicles, they were able to get the most out of everyone’s vehicles by using the components in the engines throughout the US, and Germany.