"Nothing works without us!"

Literally. Because in our high-tech world, almost everything has to be lubricated. "And we ensure it runs like grease," says Matthias Mickler, Head of Application Technology, Specialty Additives Segment in our Lubricants Additives Business (LAB) unit.

Our work can be compared to that of three-star chef Dieter Müller. Müller didn't go to a cooking event without his heat-sealed plastic bags. Why? It contains the crucial essence that turns a good basic product into a luxury good perfectly matched to its individual components. The chef is famous in Germany for his regional goose, which always delights his guests. 

It's similar for us, Mickler tells us. While we rely more on barrels than plastic bags, both basically contain the same thing: The crucial essence. Our high-tech world is developing rapidly. However, since everything is constantly evolving, our additives also have to adapt permanently.

In the additives business, new developments in the market (e.g. e-vehicles) or new regulations sometimes demand changes to lubricant properties. As a result the requirements for the additives within the lubricant may be very different. They either have to be modified or redesigned. 

Here is an example of a car: you can use some of the lubricants of an internal combustion vehicle in electric vehicles. "But this is not optimal," says application engineer Steffen Sandhöfner. "The speeds are significantly higher, the heat generation is also higher, and different materials are used." So for future generations of electric vehicles, new formulations and new additives are needed. Our LAB team is already working on finding new solutions for powertrain fluids, battery coolants, and new greases for electric vehicles. 

Identifying trends at an early stage

The trend toward sustainable products is also hitting additives. Although they often make up only a few percent of the final lubricant product. Six of our additives already run under LANXESS's own Scopeblue^® sustainability label. However, at the moment the EU Eco-label is more decisive for us with customers clarifies Thomas Klein, a chemist from the application technology department. 

But the six Scopeblue^® products also meet these conditions, and some of them are already on a "positive list" for the EU Ecolabel. "We can thus convince our customers on two tracks," says Klein.

The business unit recently had a large, international sustainability day in Cologne. They are reacting early, considering how laws might change and which products they would then have to modify. 

For example, certain competitive additives used in metalworking fluids are subject to regulatory limitations (some chlorinated paraffins). Our additives are sulfur-based with a relatively good environmental profile and do not have these same restrictions.

Improving road construction 

In the lab next door, Thomas Klein and colleague Svenja Kusterer are currently testing different bitumen compositions on the rheometer. Bitumen is the cement that holds the rock in asphalt together and gives it strength. The problem is that a crosslinking agent must mix perfectly with the polymer-modified bitumen and be easy to process. "Now we have found one that better meets these requirements," Klein proudly announces. Asphalt has a challenging set of requirements. It must

• be elastic, but also strong,
• heat-resistant and insensitive to cold, 
• and be open-pored to allow water to run off, but not too coarse-pored to prevent tires from suffering too much abrasion. 

"There's a lot to consider," Klein says. But that's not all. Starting in 2025, a new occupational exposure limit will apply in Germany. Bitumen may then no longer exceed a certain temperature value during processing. It relates to the probably harmful vapors that are produced when it is processed under heat. Rolled asphalt in Germany is usually processed at a temperature of up to 180 degrees Celsius. "Then the consistency is optimal for compaction." The team searched for and found an additive that enables this optimal processing even at 20 or, even better, 30 degrees Celsius less. In this way, significantly fewer harmful vapors escape. 

Likewise, Klein is researching the possibility of reusing old rubber tires for asphalt production. This is already happening in California. But the process is not yet optimal, he says. The types of rubber are different, and the subsequent mixing with bitumen is difficult. But, "We've already found a solution here, too." 

They are still in the midst of development on another topic: recycling old asphalt layers for new road surfaces. "Here we want to use the old bitumen. But its aging and the associated poorer properties are a problem," Klein explains. But he is optimistic about finding an additive for this as well: "We're on the right track."

Unique hydraulic test rigs 

A few buildings away are the hydraulic test rigs. "They are unique - even considered worldwide standard," Sandhöfner says proudly, pointing to three of them for different pump sizes. They are constantly in use. Let's say Bosch hydraulic pumps has developed a new power unit for combine harvesters, and an agricultural machinery manufacturer installs it in its vehicles. Then they recommend the use of certain lubricants. Only by using them Bosch guarantees a certain lifetime of its equipment.

Now we come into play. The pump manufacturer specifies what properties the new lubricant should have and from whom the base oil should be sourced. Is it bio-oil? From which oil refiner does it come? All of this is important for us. We then formulate the appropriate additives for the specified oil and test it here in the unit," Sandhöfner explains. "We also sometimes disassemble the pump to precisely identify the wear points," he says. 

This is where know-how from chemistry and mechanical engineering come together, and the high degree of specialization is evident. The advantage: Once they have developed the perfect product for the customer, there is a close customer relationship - and a certain turnover for the near future.

The positive atmosphere in Mannheim is striking. "Our business is still going relatively well," Mickler says. The site is being expanded to increase production of the sulfur carriers by 50 percent. We sell our products in Europe, Asia and the United States. "We have a global eye on the growth of our industrial lubricant additives," Mickler says. Well, I guess nothing really works without our business unit LAB. Our additives in oils, lubricants and greases keep machines fit - even a crisis can't change that.