ABSTRACT
What is synthetic grease? Before we can answer this question, we need to define what grease is. The classical definition of lubricating grease is “a solid-to-semifluid product of a thickening agent in a liquid lubricant [1],” or in lay terminology, grease can be thought of as a “sponge of oil.” All lubricating greases, including synthetics, consist of three fundamental components: a lubricating base fluid, a thickener, and usually performance-enhancing additives [2]. The concentration of thickener determines the consistency of the finished product; however, it is the nature
of the oil that determines whether the grease is classified as a synthetic. The oil, thickener, and additive combinations provide manufacturers with a great deal of flexibility in formulating products with many different physical and chemical attributes [3].
