Chapter 11-Environmentally Friendly Oils

In a variety of technical systems, hydraulic drives are the preferred alternative because of their versatility and efficiency. To perform the drive functions over the life of the system, the hydraulic fluid must be considered as a system component during the design stage. Due to a societal increase in environmental conciousness in the late 1980s, regulatory agencies began demanding that these fluids be rapidly biodegradable and nontoxic. This excluded mineral oil from consideration. Currently vegetable oils, some synthetic esters, and polyglycols are being used for these applications [1-10].