Abstract:
Lubricating grease was practically known already
in ancient times to the Pharaohs and Romans
who used tallow and melted fat for lubricating
the axles of their vehicles. Only since the
middle of the last century mineral oil and soap
have been used as basic components of lubricants
for industrial purposes. Initially the production
was based only on simple saponification
of mineral oil with lime soap in open vats. Subsequent
treatments like homogenization and
deaeration as well as admixing special additives
have developed gradually (deaeration devices
since appr. 1940 only) with increasing standards
as set by industrial development. Both the hot
and the cold production methods are applied in
modern plants by using autoclaves in which temperatures
in the range of 200 to 250 DC can be
reached for producing various sorts of grease
under pressure.
