DoD Sustainable Products Center

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 selected for test and evaluation – 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.

*Mention of or referral to commercial products, services, and manufacturers herein is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by, nor the official policy or position of, the Department of War (DoW), any of its Components, or the U.S. Government.

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. T&E of the biobased grease products was performed in non-tactical vehicles and equipment at the following DoW 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 T&E 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 DoW and Federal Agency stakeholders established to evaluate and validate that these greases met the participants’ requirements

Table 3: T&E Performance Criteria

Criteria	Parameters
Equipment Performance	Equipment operation Equipment wear
Grease Application	Ease of use Quantify of grease per application Frequency of 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

Some demonstration products are listed on GSA Advantage and FedMall.