Daicel's POM Powder Enables Stick Lubricant That Cuts Oil Use 80%

Daicel Corporation's high-performance polymers unit said its DURAST POM fine powder has been adopted by Japan's Maia Co. for a stick-form lubricant. The product, sold under Maia's Sol-Mid brand, resolves problems common with liquid oils: dripping and splattering. Over-application waste disappears too.

The stick format is leak-proof and easy to carry, Daicel said. Maintenance workers can apply it without mess. For office equipment, the lubricant cuts conventional oil use by about 80%.

Maia's manufacturing technology mixes ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene with grease. The DURAST POM fine powder acts as a layer between the two, keeping them compatible. Without that interlayer, the grease and polyethylene would separate.

Daicel had to develop a proprietary process to turn POM – a polyacetal engineering plastic – into a uniform fine powder with controlled particle size. Conventional grinding methods could not achieve that, the company said.

The stick lubricant is scheduled for full-scale commercialization. Daicel is targeting major office equipment manufacturers first, then industrial machinery repair, bicycle maintenance, and conveyor systems.