Interview with Chief Scientist Mr. Fu Xisheng on Kunlun Lubricant’s Core Technical Advantages and Future Breakthrough Directions

On September 18 and 19, the China Lubrication Technology Forum (2018) and the 18th Annual Meeting of the Automotive Fuel and Lubricant Branch of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China were successfully held in Suzhou, where industry experts offered their insights and injected new vitality into the industry’s technological development in the new era. During the forum, Mr. Fu Xisheng, chief scientist of PetroChina Lubricant Company, gave an exclusive interview to reporters, providing in-depth answers on Kunlun Lubricant’s R&D history and the technological development of lubricants in the new era.
Mr. Fu Xisheng, chief scientist of PetroChina Lubricant Company
Q1: The China Lubrication Technology Forum has always been hosted by Kunlun Lubricant. In General Manager Gong’s speech just now it was also mentioned that the forum has brought the industry a lot of technological inspiration over the years. What profound influence do you think the forum has had on the development of China’s lubricant industry?
Chief Scientist Fu: The China Lubrication Technology Forum hosted by Kunlun Lubricant is a purely technical forum covering frontier and hot areas of lubricant technology development. It is a weathervane for the development of China’s lubricant industry, represents the industry’s development direction, and deserves the attention and participation of industry insiders in lubricants at home and abroad. This forum was co-organized with the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, fully reflecting Kunlun Lubricant’s close attention to China’s auto industry. Automobiles cannot do without lubricants; based on the development and needs of China’s auto industry, Kunlun Lubricant upgrades and updates lubricant products and leads China’s lubricant market. The China Lubrication Technology Forum gathers top experts and scholars related to lubrication from home and abroad across major lubrication-related fields; it is a major technical event for China’s lubricant industry, and I hope it will be run better and better with everyone’s support.
Q2: As the first tier of China’s lubricant industry development, what leading advantages does Kunlun Lubricant have in product and technology R&D?
Chief Scientist Fu: Kunlun Lubricant’s R&D has a 60-year history of development, always insisting on the R&D and industrial application of lubricant and additive technologies with independent intellectual property rights, and mastering the key core of lubricants. It can provide customized high-end lubricant products according to customers’ individual needs, and promptly update and upgrade them in line with market demand. Kunlun Lubricant R&D has established joint laboratories with partners to jointly formulate product standards, jointly develop new products and jointly promote product upgrading and market application. Kunlun Lubricant R&D products are unique: transformer oil is the only specially supplied oil for the world’s highest-voltage transmission project; Kunlun gear oil has been successfully applied to the world’s most advanced high-speed rail, the “Fuxing”; and long-life diesel engine oil leads the Chinese commercial vehicle oil market.
Q3: At present Kunlun Lubricant holds a leading position in the industry by relying on independent R&D. What has its independent R&D journey been, and what awards and honors has it won?
Chief Scientist Fu: Sixty years of independent R&D, with successive generations of Kunlun Lubricant R&D people innovating continuously, from nothing to something and from something to international leadership. The first barrel of oil, the first additive and the first grease; designated oil for the 10th, 50th and 60th anniversary parades. Three national awards in four years; transformer oil, diesel engine oil and gear oil reaching internationally leading levels. Supporting oils for high-end projects such as aircraft carriers, nuclear power, the highest-voltage transmission project, Antarctic scientific expeditions, high-speed rail, wind power, industrial robots and new energy vehicles.
Q4: We all know that Kunlun Lubricant’s long-life diesel engine oil and long-life vehicle gear oil have attracted much industry and consumer attention. Briefly, what technical difficulties have these two products overcome, and what technical advantages do they have?
Chief Scientist Fu: They broke through two major technical difficulties: core additives and compounding technology. On this basis, a complete big-data platform was established to tailor new lubricant products for high-end customers, realizing a “product + service” R&D model. In the R&D of long-life diesel engine oil products, the advantages include the core additive salicylate, 60 years of R&D experience, 17 invention patents and proprietary synthetic application technology. It possesses four technical features — high temperature, cleanliness, anti-wear and durability — thus achieving zero carbon deposit and self-repair functions for the engine and ultimately the long-life effect. In the R&D of long-life vehicle gear oil products, it won the National Technological Invention Award. From single additive to compound additive to gear oil to industrial application, it formed a complete set of independent technologies and discovered and proposed a comprehensive lubrication protection mechanism, in particular lubrication protection under four harsh operating conditions: starting, extremely high speed, ultra-high load and braking. It can achieve 500,000 kilometers without an oil change, matching the service life of the transmission system.
Q5: The theme of this forum is “New Era, New Opportunities.” Considering the current overall environment for the development of China’s lubricant industry, what new opportunities are there for the industry’s development? What new technological breakthroughs in lubricants can be expected in the future?
Chief Scientist Fu: The ten key areas of Made in China 2025 — the new-generation information technology industry, high-grade numerically controlled machine tools and robots, aerospace equipment, marine engineering equipment and high-tech ships, advanced rail transit equipment, energy-saving and new energy vehicles, power equipment, agricultural machinery equipment, new materials, and biopharmaceuticals and high-performance medical devices — all involve high technology content, high added value and core competitiveness. These areas also urgently need new lubricants and additives with key core technologies, providing the lubricant industry with unprecedented new development opportunities and challenges. This is also where Kunlun Lubricant’s advantages lie, helping Made in China 2025 and Made in China go global together.
In the future, Kunlun Lubricant’s R&D team will make breakthroughs in three hot application areas for lubricants: ionic liquids, graphene and nano additives.