ILMA Compoundings February 2018 - 11

In the Know
NIGERIA BATTLING COUNTERFEIT LUBRICANTS WITH
CONSUMER EDUCATION
It is estimated that the lubricant market in Nigeria loses more than $200
million in potential sales revenue annually because of counterfeit lubricants.
The Standards Organization of Nigeria Act, signed in 2015, gave regulators the
power to arrest and prosecute offenders. However, enforcement of regulations
is inadequate. Stakeholders in the industry have decided the best way to battle
counterfeit lubricants is to educate the consumers on the dangers of using them.
EXXON REPLACES SIGNUM WITH NEW MOBIL SERV
Exxon launched its new Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis, a mobile-enabled technology
that monitors both oil condition and the health of high-speed marine engines, at
the end of 2017. According to Exxon, Mobil Serv will help to reduce unnecessary
maintenance, which will save on labor costs and downtime. It also hopes to
eliminate labels and paperwork through the optional "scan-and-go" technology.
Operators can scan the barcode of a sample bottle and enter the sample information,
then receive back a report on engine and lubricant condition, including advice
to help formulate maintenance schedules and understand data trends. This new
technology replaces ExxonMobil's used-oil analysis program, Signum.
BIO-BASED LUBRICANT MARKET EXPECTED TO GROW
Increased availability of high-quality bio-based base stocks, favorable public opinion
and regulations are credited for the estimated growth of the global bio-based
lubricants market. Kline & Co. predicts that the market will grow at a compound
annual rate of 5 percent over the next five years, with demand highest in North
America and Asia-Pacific. Kline found that North America led in bio-based
lubricant demand in 2016, accounting for around half of the global market. Europe
accounted for about a quarter, followed by Asia-Pacific and South America.
MAERSK IMPLEMENTS BLENDING-ON-BOARD SYSTEM
A vessel operating in emission control areas must reduce its sulfur content in fuel to
0.1 percent. Elsewhere, those restrictions vary from 1 to 3.5 percent. This means ship
operators continuously need to adjust cylinder oil when operating with different fuel
sulfur contents. Maersk Fluid Technology's Blending-on-Board system allows ship
owners and operators to blend the cylinder lubrication oil right on board the vessel,
reducing the feed rate and reducing the total lubrication oil consumption by up to
40 percent per year. Maersk says the Blending-on-Board system not only allows ship
owners to meet the new sulfur regulations, but it also simplifies the crew operation.

Slick Fact
The Jost Report coined the term "tribology" in 1966. In the report, friction, wear and
corrosion were recognized as a large cost (1.1 to 1.4 percent of GDP) to the U.K. economy.
The author of the report, Hans Peter Jost, passed away in June 2016 at the age of 95.

ILMA Compoundings February 2018

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