"Bernd D. Ratsch" <bernd@dodgetrucks.org> wrote:
> It's still the same crude oil that's used Jon. The grade is mainly the
> quality of the crude...it's still all from crude. Some people think that
> "synthetic" means that the oil was made from some mad scientist in a
> lab...that's not where it comes from.
That is only partially correct. Although groups 1, 2 and 3 are
indeed created from petroleum, group 4 base stock is a true synthetic,
not derived from petroleum. It is created via a chemical reaction,
"in a lab", as you say. (The sanity of the scientists involved
notwithstanding.) :-) Although *most* "synthetic" oils are actually
created from group 3 base stock, some are created from group 4, such
as the original Mobil 1, I think Mobil 1 is group 3 now though.
Anyway, there are no dead dinosaurs in group 4. Group 5 is also a
true synthetic, though I don't know of any oils using it as a base
stock, group 5 is usually used to formulate additives.
A related factoid: Oil companies are allowed to call "synthetic"
oil based on group 3 base stock a synthetic because of the Exxon/Mobil vs
Castrol lawsuit in which Castrol was able to convince the court that
group 3 was of sufficient quality to market the oil as a "synthetic".
(Mobil 1 was using group 4 which is a true synthetic and Castrol
Syntec was being made from the less expensive group 3 and undercutting
Mobil 1 sales. Exxon/Mobil sued Castrol to stop them from calling
group 3 oil synthetic, but Castrol won.)
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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