July / August 2020 NLGI Spokesman

Environmentally acceptable lithium complex grease for a wide temperature range Roland Ardai Axel Christiernsson International AB Nol, Sweden Abstract The year 2019 was a period of change for biodegradable lubricants. The rules and regulations of EU Ecolabel (EEL), US EPA Vessel General Permit (VGP) and Swedish Standard SS 155470 were all revised, resulting in new challenges and opportunities that will impact the environmentally friendly grease business. One example of an opportunity relates to lithium complex thickener technology.

Previously, aquatic toxicity and biodegradability requirements were difficult to fulfill with lithium complex-based greases. However, recent regulation changes have now given grease formulators the chance to enter the market with such a thickener.

This paper gives an overview of all the regulation changes implemented in 2019 before going on to discuss the formulation, testing and performance data for an EU Ecolabel-compliant, biodegradable and nontoxic lithium complex grease.

Introduction What a year! Many of the traditional European green labelling programs and the US EPA Vessel General Permit or VGP underwent revision during 2018. At the beginning of 2019, the EU Ecolabel released a revised regulation to the market. The status of the updated VGP, due at the end of 2018, was still unclear in 2019, and an updated SS 155470 is expected during 2020.

EU Ecolabel The author had the honour of being involved in the EU Ecolabel revision working group and gained valuable experience as a result. The EU Ecolabel (EEL) was established in 1992 and is recognised globally as a label of environmental excellence awarded to products and services meeting high environmental standards throughout their lifecycle: from raw material selection to production, distribution and disposal. The EEL promotes the circular economy and supports products and services that have a lower environmental impact, contribute to sustainable development throughout their life cycle, are energy efficient and meet a set of high environmental and performance standards.

(A circular economy is designed to use recycling and other means to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources.)

EEL criteria provide useful and straightforward guidelines for companies looking to lower their environmental impact and improve the efficiency of their operational activity through third party controls. Furthermore, many companies turn to EEL criteria for guidance on eco-friendly best practices when developing their product portfolios [1].

Right at the core of the EEL is the lifecycle approach. All of the products that display the EU Ecolabel have been designed to ensure that their main environmental impact is reduced throughout their life cycle. In the case of greases, the life cycle definition is quite limited. It includes selecting the raw materials and whether the product lifetime ends in release to the environment, disposal or, in some cases, with energy regained through waste treatment facilities.

- 12 NLGI Spokesman | VOLUME 84, NUMBER 3 | July/August 2020