Polyalkylene glycol polycarbonate based lubricant oil composition

Abstract

The present invention provides lubricant oil compositions comprising a polyalkylene glycol carbonate. The lubricant oil compositions are useful for industrial gear oil, automotive gear oil, and lubricant oil for refrigerators, rolling installations and fibers, which are excellent in lubricating properties and detergency. The present invention also relates to lubricant oil compositions which comprise a polyalkylene glycol polycarbonate having mutual solubility with an ozone layer-nondestructive Freon such as Freon R-134a, and which are accordingly especially suited for refrigerators using hydrogenated fluorocarbon as a refrigerant. A polyalkylene glycol carbonate according to the invention comprises a polyoxypropylene group in the molecular chain and an alkyl group and an alkyloxyalkylene group at the molecular terminals. This invention provides a process for preparing said polyalkylene glycol polycarbonate wherein a polypropylene glycol and a carbonate are allowed to react, said reaction including condensation polymerization. The invention also provides a process without condensation polymerization for preparing a polyalkylene glycol polyol wherein a polyol and a carbonate is allowed to react in the presence of a basic catalyst while a produced alcohol is being distilled off, the catalyst is removed then, and the unreacted carbonate is eliminated.

Claims

2. A lubricant oil comprising a polyalkylene glycol polycarbonate represented by the formula (I) ##STR50## wherein each R.sub.1 is independently an aliphatic group selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, isopentyl, neopentyl and n- or iso-alkyl having 6 to 20 carbon atoms, or an alkyloxyalkylene group represented by the formula ##STR51## wherein R.sub.3 is an alkylene group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms

R.sub.4 is an aliphatic group selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, isopentyl, neopentyl and n- or iso-alkyl having 6 to 20 carbon atoms, p is an integer of 1 to 100 and q is an integer of 1 to 10;

R.sub.2 is an alkylene group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms;

z is an integer of 1 to 100;

m is an integer of 1 to 10; and

n is an integer of 1 to 100..!..Iadd.

3. In a lubrication process comprising the use of a lubricant oil, the improvement comprising said lubricant oil comprising a polycarbonate represented by the general formula (VI) ##STR52## wherein R.sub.5 is a hydrocarbon group having a molecular weight of 85 to 10,000 or a hydrocarbon group containing oxygen and having a molecular weight of 60 to 10,000,

j is an integer of 3 to 10,

each R.sub.6 is independently a lower alkyl group selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, isopropyl and n-butyl, or an alkyloxyalkylene group selected from the group consisting of an ethylene glycol monomethyl ether group, a diethylene glycol monomethyl ether group, a triethylene glycol monomethyl ether group, a propylene glycol monomethyl ether group, a dipropylene glycol monoethyl ether group and a tripropylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether group..Iaddend.