Solutions - Biodegradable Lubes

Snowmobilers

Overview

Specially formulated lubrication oils may provide part of the answer to reducing snowmobile emissions. Manufacturers of low-emission two-cycle oil combine various characteristics into their formulations

Testing funded by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and others compared emission levels from a conventional petroleum-base lube oil to those from three oils formulated to improve performance and reduce emissions.

These were: Conoco bio-synthetic two-cycle engine oil, which is highly biodegradable Bombardier Rotax (Castrol) Formula XPS synthetic two-stroke oil (a synthetic biodegradable lube with solvent) which is biodegradable and produces lower particulate emissions; and TORCO Synthetic Smoke-Less 2-Cycle Oil, a fully synthetic lube oil that is low particulate but not biodegradable. Biodegradable oils can be used interchangeably with standard oils.

Test results show that the use of synthetic low-particulate oils significantly reduces pollution. Synthetic biodegradable lube oils reduced carbon monoxide, and probably would reduce any potential impacts to water quality.

Selected Links

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, through the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Bioenergy Program, provided data and a demonstration of bio-based fuel and lube options for reducing potential pollution and health problems caused by snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Laboratory emissions tests compared the effects on emissions of biomass-based fuel and lubrication oils used in snowmobile engines to those emissions from conventional fuel and lubes. The 16-page report on the project, titled Biomass Alternatives for Snowmobiles: Emissions Testing and Demonstration of Bio-based Options for Emissions Reduction in 2-Stroke Snowmobile Engines in Yellowstone National Park, Snowmobile in the Park, was released in August 2001.

Results of tests done on snowmobiles using biobased fuels and lubricant are also reported in a paper titled Emissions from Snowmobile Engines Using Bio-based Fuels and Lubricants, J.J. White, J.N Carroll, H.E. Haines, SETC Paper 972108 and JSAE 9734412 presented at the Small Engine Technology Conference 1997, Yokohama, Japan, October 27-31, 1997. (178 pages)

Other pertinent research includes testing done in 1997 at the University of Idaho, where scientists compared two commercial biodegradable oils side by side with various non-commercial rapeseed oils. The researchers tested the oils using Stihl two-cycle leaf blowers. All of the engines using non-commercial oils failed. A report, titled A Screening Test for Rapeseed Ethyl Ester Two-cycle Oils (ASAE 976074), was prepared by researchers Charles Peterson and D.L. Reece. The report is available for a fee from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Many alternative fuels are being used today in place of fossil fuels like oil. The U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuel Data Center classifies many fuels as "alternative" to gasoline. At the AFDC website, you will find information on these fuels, as well as links to other resources with more detailed information.

In response to increasingly rigorous requirements for reduced emissions and improved fuel efficiency in the U.S. and abroad, the Southwest Research Institute conducts research into all phases of engine and vehicle subsystem design and development, alternative fuels research, and fuel and lubricant testing.