Compressor oil

Selecting a proper type of oil for a refrigeration system, is a crucial point for the correct performance of the compressor that leads to reducing in friction and also prevents wear.

Types of refrigeration oils

There are two types of oil that are being used widely in refrigeration industry:

Mineral Oils

Mineral oils (MO) are refined petroleum-based products derived from petroleum. They are produced as a by-product when crude oil is distilled to produce gasoline. Mineral oil was used for decades in refrigeration equipment that were produced with the primary generation of refrigerants, including CFCs and HCFCs.

Synthetic Oils

One of the other groups of refrigerant oils, are synthetic oils. As the industry phased out CFCs and HCFCs, it had to develop new oils to use with newer refrigerants. These new oils are called synthetic oils that is a man-made lubricant consisting of chemical compounds which are manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components.
Synthetic oils are miscible with modern refrigerants. This means that mineral oils do not mix well with new refrigerants, which causes refrigerants don’t do their job well.

Types of synthetic oils:

Alkylbenzene (AB)

Alkylbenzene or AB is a type of synthetic oils that is used in refrigeration systems with HCFC or CFC refrigerants. 

Polyolester (POE)

POE is a synthetic oil used in refrigeration systems charged with HFC and HFO refrigerants. These oils are also called ester oils. It’s important if an old system is necessary to be retrofitted with HFC refrigerant, we use polyolester or POE oil.

Polyalkylene Glycol (PAG)

PAG is another type of synthetic oil that is used mostly in car air conditioning systems.

Polyvinyl ether (PVE)

The last one is polyvinyl ether or PVE oil that is an alternative to POE oils.