Aekyung Chemical develops 1st domestically made refrigeration lubricant

Korea's Aekyung Chemical, an affiliate of Aekyung Group, along with GS Caltex, has made the nation's first localized refrigeration lubricant in line with its aim to break into foreign dominance of the item.

Aekyung Chemical is thus the first domestic chemical corporation to enter the Korean market for the product.

The company on Monday said that along with GS Caltex, it jointly developed in August technology to produce a domestically made lubricant and completed a patent application. The former produces base oil for the lubricant and the latter makes finished products.

Compatibility is crucial as a lubricant to mix with refrigerant.

Other requirements are thermal and chemical stability, low pour point, viscosity, insulation performance and compatibility with organic materials. Imports have dominated the domestic market for the lubricant due to its high technical complexity, with the global market for the item worth an estimated 100,000 tons per year.

In market testing, the domestically produced lubricant also showed a quality advantage in refrigerant compatibility and performance compared to imports. Aekyung Chemical added that its next-generation product meets related global regulations due to high compatibility with the new eco-friendly refrigerant HFC-32.

The plan is to greatly expand use of the lubricant's base oil, a key raw material, by domestic home appliance makers and the automotive market. A hybrid base oil will also be developed for use with both existing and newer refrigerants.

An Aekyung Chemical source said, "We plan to pursue technology localization through cooperation with GS Caltex."

The company was formed in November last year through a merger of the parent group's three chemical affiliates: Aekyung Petrochemical, AK Chemtech and Aekyung Chemical.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com