Volume 32, Issue 6

The current upheaval of base oil markets is severe enough to seem mythical except that lubricant producers are feeling the very real brunt. • Some of the inputs for calculating product carbon footprints can vary significantly, which underscores the importance of specific data, but some data is difficult to obtain. • A vendor offers examples of how to use artificial intelligence to sort formulating priorities during supply chain disruptions. • Costs for lithium, a key grease ingredient, have eased for now, but a Nynas official predicts grease suppliers will continue encountering reasons to consider alternatives. • Registrations under the landmark chemicals regulation (REACH) began in 2007, but implementation has several steps, and some grease thickeners are still in process. • Are base stocks a commodity? Maybe they once were, but those days are long gone, given the range of properties, even within API groups.