SCUP: Lubricants, Synthetic

Nov 2021. Synthetic lubricants (synlubes)—formulated products consisting of synthetic base stocks plus additives—have physical and chemical properties that are generally superior to those of conventional mineral oil–based lubricants. As a result, synlubes are the lubricants of choice in applications with especially demanding performance requirements. Since synlube base stocks are generally far more expensive than conventional mineral oils, their use has traditionally been restricted to those applications that demand the very high performance characteristics that only synlubes can provide. The ongoing demand for higher fuel economy has pushed the use of high-quality motor and gear oils. Another important development has been the growing use of synlubes as refrigerator oils to provide compatibility with the refrigerants that have replaced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The 2017–20 period was overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which reduced the global demand for synthetic lubricants by 5–6%. The impact in the different regions differed greatly—while Europe and the Americas suffered heavily, the effects in Asia were mild and mainland China even saw slight growth.

• Publish Date: 2021-11-30
• Chemical Focus: Specialty Markets
• Number of Pages: 220
• Content Type: Report
• Delivery: Email with link to PDF file

• Global and regional supply/demand and five-year forecast
• North America, Europe, China, Japan coverage
• Government regulations, trends and strategic issues
• Prices and operating characteristics
• Market participants and size by value and volume

• Drive market research, commercial and technology development
• Support competitive and regulatory analysis
• Inform merger and acquisition decisions