Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. commissioned a natural gas-to-graphene production plant in Richlands, Australia, that is intended to make different types of graphene for the company’s end products, including lubricants.
Fluid lubricants typically use graphene as an additive to help reduce friction and wear in automotive and industrial applications. The company said that because of plant’s modular design, it expects to be able to install at least an additional 20 graphene production units in the Richlands manufacturing facility with most of the supporting infrastructure for these additional production units already installed as part of this initial project. Production capacity was not disclosed.
The plant’s gas-to-graphene technology is based on the company’s plasma technology, which splits natural gas into graphene and hydrogen gas.
The expected final cost of the facility is AUS $2.9 million (U.S. $2 million), including infrastructure for other future modular production units. The company said such production units will be installed as required for its sales.
In the energy savings segment, the company said it has focused on graphene-enhanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning, coating for energy-saving paint, lubricants and fluids.
According to the company’s technical bulletin, its G Lubricant product is a concentrate of its graphene and lubricating oil designed for energy and emission saving and wear prevention. It is then further diluted to a recommended 0.1% concentration in a fully formulated lubricant.
Graphene is said to be impermeable to liquids and gases, slowing down the corrosive and oxidative processes that usually cause damage to surfaces when friction occurs. This property makes it useful in tribological applications. Graphene is a single, one-atom thick layer of carbon atoms from natural sources.