TETRAMER TECHNOLOGIES LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.8

Description

The key technical problem and resultant commercial opportunity addressed by this Phase II SBIRsubmission is a global lack of biodegradable lubricants and functional fluids which are both highperformance [synthetic esters polyalphaolefin (PAO)] and affordable [mineral oil seed oil]. Thetechnical goals of the submission involves fine tuning the lubricants sucessfully developed duringPhase I creating formulated products based on end user specifications while also exploring non- lubricant applications of the technology.• Objective 1: Property modification via compositional alteration for application specificproperties and metrics.• Objective 2: Additive package design and optimization for hydraulic fluids and gear oils.• Objective 3: Explore non-industrial lubricant options as value added materials.• Objective 4: Transitioning from bench scale research to commercial product.The work in Phase II will center around structural optimization of the lubricant through third partytesting and validation alongside sampling customers in appropriate market segments. It isanticipated this program will result in technical and commercial development of a new class of bio- based and biodegradable lubricants. Hydraulic fluids gear/transmission oils and food grade oils arethe targeted segments for these prototype lubricants. Process oils and non-lubricant applicationsegments will also be addressed. With our current commercial partners we hope to bring a high- performance cost-advantaged biodegradable lubricant to market in the next three years.