Complex Calcium Sulfonate Lubricant Based on a By-Product of Chemical Production

The article is devoted to the study of the possibility of reducing the cost of complex calcium sul-fonate grease (CCSG) through the use of by-products of the production of ultra-alkaline calcium sul-fonate (UCS).
The purpose of the work is to evaluate the prospects for the use of calcium compound concen-trate (CCC), a by-product of the production of ultra–alkaline calcium sulfonate, to reduce the cost of CCC production while ensuring a given level of their operational characteristics.
The article proposes a variant for the manufacture of CCSG based on sulfonated compounds of various origins and describes a method for monitoring the synthesis using infrared (IR) spectrometry.
The synthesis of CCSG samples based on ultra-alkaline calcium sulfonate and a concentrate of calcium compounds is described, with control of the lubricant manufacturing process using IR spec-troscopy and assessment of its rheological properties and tribological characteristics (penetration, drop point, colloidal stability, welding load, critical load). It has been established that samples of lub-ricants based on UCS and CCS demonstrate high performance characteristics comparable to their for-eign counterparts.
It is shown that the use of by-products of the UCS production is acceptable and advisable, while it opens up the possibility of reducing the cost and improving the environmental conditions of CCSG production.

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