Grease Is the Word

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, sure, but the industrial lubricants that keep the modern world functioning require expensive, labor-intensive management to keep them from becoming nasty contaminants in soil and water.

The lubricants that keep the modern world moving are full of petroleum and synthetic additives. After these compounds are played out, their residues — even when handled properly — tend of slip out into the world, requiring costly clean up. But there's some good news: Heavy machines are set to go green, with new, safer lubricants.

Derived from ricin oil and cellulose compounds, the new lubricant is free of synthetic and petroleum agents, completely biodegradable, and performs better than its petroleum-based predecessors. In tests, the green lubricants are durable and have the kind of high viscosity that suggests they will stay put better, too.

All hail biodegradable lubricants: Green is Good!

Photo courtesy of Reivax, via Flickr.