2002 From: Steve Johson Director, Technology Management

 
RE: Participation in Commercialization of High Performance Biobased Lubricants

Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) currently works with a variety of federal agencies, universities and federal labs commercializing technologies from the lab and into market utilization.  These organizations include the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Iowa State University.

CTC works to validate the performance of emerging technology to demonstrate its potential to solve identified problems, provide life cycle cost reduction, generate dual use (military and commercial) utilization, and provide positive environmental benefits.

Bi-annually, the Army revises its Army Environmental Requirements and Technology Assessments (AERTA) initiative list.  In 1999, the Army listed the development of environmentally compatible lubricants and fluids as the fourteenth ranked priority under its Pollution Prevention initiative.  Various problems with oil/water separators at military installations have led to the release of lubricants, fluids, and oils into the soil and groundwater, requiring significant remediation expense for the Army.

Remediation costs would be reduced or eliminated if these effluents were sufficiently biodegradable.

Furthermore, the military has issued specifications for the procurement of biodegradable lubricants.  Specification MIL-PRF-1024G, for mineral-based grease, is being redefined in order to include biodegradable products.  MIL-PRF-32073, MIL-PRF-46170 and MIL-PRF-6083 are all relatively new specifications for biodegradable hydraulic fluids.  If biobased, biodegradable fluids can demonstrate competitive cost and performance capabilities, then, we believe, the Army would certainly consider their implementation.

Further, Executive Orders 13101 and 13149 further demonstrate the Government's desire to promote the use of biodegradable lubricants.  Executive Order 13101, "Greening of the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition" was issued in order to improve the Federal Government's use of "recycled products and environmentally preferable products and services."

Likewise, Executive Order 13149 seeks to ensure that "Government exercises leadership in the reduction of petroleum consumption through improvements in fleet fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuels."

We became aware of renewable lubricants as part of CTC's management of the U.S. Army's technology transfer initiative, Commercialization of Technologies to Lower Defense Costs. We sought to find innovative bio lubricants that had the potential to replace fossil fuel products on the market. As part of that program, we provided the applicable military specifications for a biobased hydraulic fluid and the company then set about formulating candidate fluids for testing at the Army's functional fluids test laboratory at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

Based on the results we have seen to date, the renewable lubricant technology shows significant potential to be a candidate to replace petroleum based alternatives. This is a significant breakthrough since the military specifications for tactical equipment such as the M-1 tank and the Paladin Howitzer is perhaps the most challenging of functional tests outside of aviation applications.

Most recently, CTC has worked with the USDA and Iowa State University to create the first national biobased products certification program that was defined in the 2002 Farm Bill. We will be managing this initiative with Iowa State and the USDA and expect the products to be a part of this certification program.

The team represents the best in American creativity and science — a challenging combination. The results that we see confirm, however, that it is indeed possible to provide a performance product that meets the highest standards and also protect our environment.

Director, Technology Management

Concurrent Technologies Corporation