What are biolubricants?

Biolubricants are products which, when used, have a lower impact on the environment. Biolubricants have a lower impact on aquatic and soil life and cause less health risks. Preferably, they are mainly derived from renewable raw materials, such as rapeseed oil. Their technical performance must at least equal that of conventional lubricants.

In order to meet the technical performance requirements of diverse applications, lubricants contain various components. The source and nature of the base oil and additives do not only influence technical performance, but also the environmental performance of the lubricant. Detailed criteria such as biodegradability, persistence and bioaccumulation, (aquatic) toxicity and other environmental and health hazards, and the extent to which the lubricants are based on renewable materials, determine whether lubricants may be eligible for ecolabels.

The annex Measuring the environmental friendliness of lubricants (PDF) explains a number of concepts relating to eco-friendliness.