Demonstration Overview
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation Hazardous Minimization and Green Products Branch in coordination with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment and Department of Defense (DoD) stakeholders demonstrated bio-based multipurpose greases for use in non-tactical DoD and civilian federal agency equipment.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Bio-Preferred Program has designated Bio-based multipurpose grease for Federal procurement preference; and defines Multipurpose Grease as:
” Lubricants composed of oils thickened to a semisolid or solid consistency using soaps, polymers or other solids, or other thickeners. Lubricants that are designed for general use.”
The BioPreferred Program established a minimum of 72% bio-based content for multipurpose grease.
Before DoD and Federal agencies can use bio-based multipurpose greases, their performance must be proven to meet government requirements and end user needs. The candidate multipurpose grease products were evaluated in vehicles and equipment at Military installations and civilian Federal Agency facilities. This demonstration validated biobased greases’ performance and facilitated awareness of sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based greases, and resulted in the assigning of National Stock Numbers (NSNs) for these sustainable products, thereby making them available for DoD and civilian Federal Agency procurement.
For more information regarding the biobased grease demonstration, please Contact Us.
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Technology Description
Greases are applied to vehicles and equipment during routine maintenance to lubricate components and protect them from corrosion. In many applications, greases are “total loss” lubricants since they are lost to the environment or wiped off and discarded, not recycled, or recovered. The National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) provides a standard classification of greases by consistency number, with the most used multipurpose grease being NLGI #2. Conventional greases use petroleum base oils. Biobased greases use biobased base oils, are typically biodegradable, non-toxic, and are designed for a wide range of applications. These products meet USDA BioPreferred Program minimum biobased content requirements.
Demonstration Products
Table 1 lists the manufacturers and the products used – all of which meet USDA’s Bio-Preferred minimum bio-based of 72% for multipurpose greases
Table 1: Biobased Grease Demonstration Products
| Company | Product |
|---|---|
| Renewable Lubricants | Bio-High Temp 180 E.P. Grease NLGI #2 |
| BioBlend Renewable Resources, LLC | BioBlend BioGrease HD NLGI #2 |
| Plews and Edelmann | UltraLube LMX Red Grease NLGI #2 |
| UltraLube Moly EP Grease NLGI #2 | |
| UltraLube Multi-Purpose Grease NLGI #2 |
Before any grease is used in a piece of equipment, the equipment manual grease specifications should be compared to the grease product data sheet to ensure that the grease is compatible with equipment requirements.
Demonstration Sites
The USAF 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron (VSCOS) provided access to USAF vehicles and equipment. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Principal Center – Recycling and Sustainable Acquisition (RSA) provided access to NASA vehicles and equipment. The biobased grease products were demonstrated in non-tactical vehicles and equipment at the following DoD installations and Federal Agency facilities:
- Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE)
- Patrick Air Force Base (AFB) / Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (AFS)
- Davis Monthan AFB
- Hill AFB
- Joint Base Lewis – McChord (JBLM)
- Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore
- Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC)
- NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC): Visitors Complex and Heavy Equipment Maintenance Facility
Demonstration Equipment
Demonstration equipment and grease applications are noted in Table 2.
Table 2: Demonstration Equipment and Applications
| Equipment | Grease Application |
|---|---|
Heavy Equipment | |
| Caterpillar IT28G Wheel Loader | All grease points: Fork slides, pivot points. cylinder ends |
| John Deere 444H Loader | Boom, bucket, drivetrain |
| John Deere 410E Backhoe | All bearing/pivot points on chassis, bucket, and scoop |
| John Deere 410J Backhoe | Boom, bucket, drivetrain |
| Caterpillar 938G Forklift | Mast/Shift Cylinder |
| John Deere 670B Road Grader | All pivot points, hydraulic cylinder mounts, wheel bearings |
| Hyster 155XL Forklift | Mast/shift cylinder, steering and chassis grease points |
| Hyster H155XL Forklift | Mast/Shift Cylinder |
| Hyster 4K Forklift | Mast/shift cylinder, steering and chassis grease points |
| Hyster H60FTM Forklift | Steering, front fork slide, and front tilt cylinder ends |
| Hyster Forklift | All grease lubrication points identified in United States Air Force (USAF) Technical Order (TO) 35M2-2-266-1 including the fork slides, tilt cylinder, steering axle tie rods, spindle, mast, and pivot pins |
| JCB, INC 3CX Backhoe | All pivot points, hydraulic cylinder mounts, wheel bearings |
| JCB 416HT Wheel Loader | All bearing/pivot points on chassis and bucket |
| JBC Front End Loader | Bucket Joints |
| Clark CMP50SD 10 K Forklift | Fork slides, pivot points, hydraulic cylinder mounts and steering |
| Clark DPS307 Forklift | Fork slide assembly |
| KOMATSU WA180-1 Wheel Loader | All pivot points, hydraulic cylinder mounts, wheel bearings |
| MARLIFT CH80C 75ft Boom Manlift | Manbasket, extension arms, tie rod ends, ball joints |
| Bobcat 341 Compact Crawler | All bearing/pivot points on chassis and bucket |
| FMC 25K Next Generation Small Loader (NGSL) | lift arm pivot points and steering |
| Volvo BL70B Backhoe | All grease points: scoop and bucket pivot, scoop and bucket arms, cylinder ends, stabilizers |
| Case 580M Backhoe | Boom, bucket, drivetrain |
| Hoist Liftruck P280 Forklift | All grease lubrication points including the fork slides, cylinder ends, steering axle tie rods, spindle, mast, and pivot pins |
Vehicles / Trucks / Trailers | |
| FL80 Freightliner Tractor | 5th wheel |
| Freightliner CL112 Tractor | 5th wheel and brake grease points |
| Freightliner Tractor | 5th wheel |
| Peterbilt PB360 Roll-Off Truck | Front suspension, brakes, hydraulic lift, and roller grease points |
| Peterbilt PB320 Refuse Truck | Suspension, brakes, hydraulic ram mechanism grease points |
| Peterbilt PB320 Refuse Truck | Suspension, brakes, drivetrain, hydraulic ram mechanism grease points |
| International Freightliner Tractor | 5th wheel |
| International Navistar 7600 SFA Tractor | 5th wheel |
| Bluebird Bus | Front suspension, front wheel kingpins, front and rear brakes |
| IHC 2554 6X4 D539 44500 Dump Truck | Dump bed pivot points, front ball joints |
| Harlen HTAS40 Warehouse Tug | Wheel Bearings |
| FORD F750 D531 24000 Dump Truck | Dump bed pivot points, front ball joints |
| Ford Bobtail Truck | Wheel bearings, ball joints, suspension |
| Ford F-350 Bobtail Truck | Front left wheel bearings, ball joints, and Pitman arm |
| Ford E-350 Utility Van | Ball joints, tie rod ends, and pitman arm |
| Chevrolet Silverado Truck | Front Suspension |
| ALU Body Corp ADS II Trailer | Hitch kingpin and brake grease points |
| Holden HLB20 Trailer | Hitch pin |
Mowers | |
| John Deere Mower | All grease points and bearings |
| John Deere Riding Lawn Mower | Deck pulley bearings and front wheel casters |
| Scag Power Equipment Turf Cat Lawnmower | All grease fitting: deck pulley bearings, deck lift mechanism and front wheel casters |
| Scag Power Equipment Tiger Cat Lawnmower | All grease fitting: deck pulley bearings, deck lift mechanism and front wheel casters |
| Scag Power Equipment Turf Cat Lawnmower | All grease fitting: deck pulley bearings, deck lift mechanism and front wheel casters |
| Toro Greensmaster Mower | All grease points and bearings |
| R & R Products Greens Max Mower (propane powered) | All grease points and bearing |
Demonstration Details
An evaluation plan outlined the demonstration activities that would be performed. This plan provided an overview of the sites, summarized the selected vehicles and equipment, identified the grease requirements, the key performance criteria, as well as the greases to be evaluated. Additionally, the plans noted the data to be collected, its methods of analysis, and the roles and responsibilities of demonstration participants and stakeholders.
Table 3 lists the key performance criteria that the DoD and Federal Agency stakeholders established to evaluate and validate that these greases met the participants’ requirements
Table 3: Key Demonstration Performance Criteria
| Criteria | Parameters |
|---|---|
| Equipment Performance |
|
| Grease Application |
|
The biobased greases were applied to demonstration equipment and vehicles at each site. A supply of the bio-based grease products was provided to installation personnel for the demonstration period, and they changed out the grease in each piece of equipment. Installation operators and maintenance personnel monitored the equipment performance throughout the demonstration period and provided feedback on the product performance.
Demonstration Results
Based on the demonstration feedback, the biobased biodegradable grease products met installation performance requirements.
- No grease related equipment operation issues were reported
- No grease related equipment wear issues were reported
- The grease ease of use was comparable to baseline petroleum greases. Many sites reported that the biobased grease odor was more pleasant than the petroleum greases.
- In most applications, users reported that the quantity of biobased grease used was the same or less than the corresponding petroleum grease
- In most applications, users reported that the frequency of biobased grease application was the same or less than the corresponding petroleum grease
- In several applications, maintenance facility personnel noted that the biobased grease products have a more consistent viscosity over time than the baseline petroleum grease, and do not separate over time as the baseline petroleum grease.
Demonstration Product National Stock Numbers
As a result of the successful demonstration as well as Service requests for these products, DLA Aviation established the following National Stock Numbers (NSNs), noted in Table 4 for the bio-based multipurpose greases which meet the USDA’s Bio-Preferred minimum 72% bio-based content requirement.
Table 4: Bio-based Grease NSNs
| NSN | NGLI | Unit of Issue |
|---|---|---|
| 9150-01-686-4300 | NGLI 2 BE > 72 |
14 oz. cartridge |
| 9150-01-686-4280 | 35 lb. can | |
| 9150-01-686-4229 | 120 lb. drum | |
| 9150-01-686-5196 | NGLI 2 BE > 72 |
12 14 oz. tubes |
| 9150-01-686-5182 | 400 lb. drum |