Composition-performance

Engine oils formulators continuously face the challenge of updating the composition of products so as to meet the most recent requirements of the market and legislation, mostly in terms of performance and environment impact. The full XXX program for a high quality product implies a long development period and high costs, so it is essential to have an adequate screening test in order to save both tie and money. The engine performance of a mineral basestock is generally predicted by its composition and by some screening test; nevertheless the prediction degree is generally unsatisfactory, owing to all the variables involved. This article deals with a new application of chemometric techniques to predict the performance of mineral basestocks in the Sequence IIIE, currently one of the key engine tests for a gasoline lubricant. Details are given on the input data, the mathematical model and the correlation coefficient obtained