what if petrol hits 2 dollars, page-34

Synthetic oil as a substitute for petroleum-based oil
One form of synthetic oil is that manufactured using the Fischer-Tropsch process which converts carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. This process was developed and used extensively in World War II by Germany, which had limited access to crude oil supplies. Germany's yearly synthetic oil production reached millions of tons in 1944. It is today used in South Africa to produce most of that country's diesel. Dr. Hermann Zorn of I.G. Farben Industrie in Germany actually began to search for lubricants with the properties of natural oils but without the tendencies to gel or gum when used in an engine environment. His work led to the preparation of over 3500 esters in the late 1930s and early 1940s including diesters and polyol esters.

Another form of synthetic oil is that produced at Syncrude sands plant in Alberta, Canada. This huge facility removes highly viscous bitumen from oil sands mined nearby, and uses a variety of processes of hydrogenation to turn it into high-quality synthetic crude oil. The Syncrude plant supplies about 14% of Canada's petroleum output. A similar plant is the smaller nearby facility owned by Suncor. See synthetic fuel.


[edit] Synthetic engine oil
In the mid 1960s Chevron U.S.A was the first to market and produce a complete range of 100% synthetic Polyalphaolefins based lubricants, which began to be marketed as a substitute for mineral oils for engine lubrication. Although in use in the aerospace industry for some years prior, synthetic oil first became commercially available in an API-approved formula for automobile engines when standards were formalized for synthetic based lubricants.

Other early synthetic motor oils marketed included NEO Oil Company (formally EON) in 1970, which were dibasic acide esters, or diesters, and polyol esters based synthetic lubricants, and still today use these high end foundation for lubricants. In 1971 All-Proof now called Redline; followed fourth by Amsoil who packaged and resold a diester-based 10W40 grade from Hatco in 1972, and then Mobil 1, introduced in North America in 1974 (with a PAO-based 5W20 grade).