Although the thickener does determine the basic characteristics of greases, they

can be varied within certain limits for one and the same thickener by selecting
the dispersion medium, adding various additives, fillers, etc. to the grease co
mposition. Greases are often additionally subdivided, according to the compositi
on of their dispersion medium, into petroleum and synthetic oil greases, which c
an be further subdivided into subgroups, e.g., petroleum greases, into greases b
ased on paraffin-naphthenic oils, aromatic oils, distillate, residual oils, etc.
, and synthetic oil greases, into greases based on polysiloxanes, esters, polygl
ycols, synthetic hydrocarbon oils, and on other synthetic fluids. The governing
role of the thickener in determining the grease properties is confirmed by the s
ummarizad data presented in Table 1.1. Besides, the classification of greases by
the thickener type is widely employed in technical and economic studies to eval
uate the general level of the quality of greases being produced, the structure a
nd amounts of their production, and the development prospects. Table 1.2 present
s the structure and history of grease production in some leading industrialised
countries and in the former USSR [24-27]. The classification of greases by the t
ype of thickener is not only important to evaluate the grease quality level and
to provide a preliminary information on their use, but is also of great importan
ce in determining the grease production technology and in selecting the grease p
roduction method and equipment. Apart from the classification of greases by the
thickener type, i.e., by their composition, their classification based on the pu
rpose and functional characteristics is widely used. A detailed information on t
his and other types of grease classification can be obtained from special litera
ture [28-30]. There is also GOST 23258-78, which specifies the classification of
greases by their functional purpose. We will only note here that greases are co
nventionally divided based on their end use into antifriction greases, which red
uce the friction and wear in mechanisms; preservative (protective) greases, whic
h protect metallic products from corrosion; sealing greases, which seal clearanc
es in mechanisms and equipment; and rope greases, use