Industrial Trial Production of Kunlun Lubricant RHY615 Completed Successfully

Recently, in accordance with the requirements of the company's Production Technology Division, the Lanzhou Lubricant Research and Development Center and the Lanzhou Lubricant Plant of PetroChina Lubricant Company successfully completed industrial trial production of six batches of RHY615 additive, totaling 36 tonnes.
RHY615 viscosity index improver features strong thickening capability, good shear stability, good high-temperature performance and good field service performance, at a moderate price. It is one of the most widely used grades in the world today and has very broad market prospects. In early 2009, the project "Process Improvement of OCP-Type Viscosity Index Improvers" completed by the Lanzhou Lubricant R&D Center proposed a production plan for RHY615, filling a technological gap for the company. However, because the process used some hazardous chemicals, it was difficult to promote within the company. As the company's product quality is upgraded, demand for RHY615 keeps growing. In-house production of RHY615 can not only reduce the costs of external procurement, transportation and heat preservation, but also stabilize oil quality and increase the technological content of independent intellectual property rights. The need for in-house RHY615 production has therefore become increasingly urgent.
In September 2009, the company's Production Technology Division organized a research breakthrough effort to produce RHY615 in-house. The Lanzhou R&D Center attached great importance to this, organizing research resources to redesign the process route based on earlier research results and the company's actual characteristics, working overtime to optimize the process, and adopting a relatively safe production process that effectively avoided the use of hazardous chemicals, thereby better meeting current practical production conditions.
In June 2010, through the joint efforts of the Lanzhou Lubricant Plant and the Lanzhou Lubricant R&D Center, industrial trial production of RHY615 was carried out in the viscosity improver unit at the Lanzhou plant. During trial production, the Lanzhou Lubricant Plant modified the sol kettle, added ventilation equipment and carried out flow-clearance tests on the process. After confirming the safety of the equipment and process, implementation of the trial production plan began. During this period, unit personnel strictly followed the plan, producing one batch and completing analysis before proceeding to the next, so that production was fully controlled.
Analysis of four trial production batches showed that key technical indicators such as thickening capability and diesel nozzle shear index all met the technical requirements for RHY615, with good repeatability, and the product can be widely used in premium internal combustion engine oils, hydraulic oils and gear oils. The new process is simple and stable, operates under mild conditions, is highly safe, and requires only easy equipment modification, making it convenient for lubricant plants to adopt.
The RHY615 viscosity improver successfully produced in this joint industrial trial by the two units has become an upgraded replacement for the lubricant company's RHY614 viscosity improver, providing important data for the company's production of higher-grade viscosity improvers and expected to deliver considerable economic and social benefits.