At our meeting in October, group member Dr Jolanta Adamczewska gave a presentation about lubricants with a specific focus on petrochemicals.
She explained that petrochemicals are chemical products derived primarily from oil, petroleum and, to a lesser extent, from natural gas.
Petrochemicals are predominantly organic compounds, meaning they are composed mainly of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) atoms. The simplest petrochemicals are hydrocarbons, which can be classified into three main categories based on their structural features.
Jolanta demonstrated the structure using atomic models first starting with
Methane (CH4): The simplest alkane, consisting of one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms in a tetrahedral geometry.
She then explained how Lubricants are made for combustion engines and how the resulting lubricant undergoes rigorous testing for properties like viscosity, thermal stability, and cleanliness before marketing. This production process ensures that the lubricant can effectively reduce friction, prevent wear, and operate reliably under demanding engine conditions.
Much of the testing is done using actual engines that are removed from production model cars- not all science investigations only use test tubes!
She concluded with a reference to electric powered vehicles and how the motor lubricants are different from those in petrol and diesel vehicles basically because they are not subject to explosions and high temperatures in the engine cylinders.
After the break we considered some significant medical advances since 2015.
Our next meeting is 21st November at JGC, and we are also meeting on 19th December.
David Rose