Molecular Structure
Supramolecular structure · overbased
Ca₂[R–C₆H₄–SO₃]₂ₓ·(CaCO₃)ᵧ
A colloidal calcium carbonate core stabilised by a calcium sulfonate surfactant shell; in grease making the carbonate is crystallised to calcite and becomes the thickener network itself.
What Grease-Grade Overbased Calcium Sulfonate (C400GE) Is
CheMost C400GE is an overbased calcium sulfonate grease grade: a high-soap-content detergent from the overbased calcium sulfonate family, made for one job in particular — converting into the thickener of a calcium sulfonate grease. Chemically it belongs to the same family as a crankcase detergent — a colloidal core of amorphous calcium carbonate held inside an inverse micelle and stabilised by a calcium alkylbenzenesulfonate surfactant shell. What sets this grade apart is a high soap content and a super-high base reserve, so that it forms grease more easily than a conventional calcium sulfonate and carries that structure into a finished grease with excellent detergency and water resistance.
Read it as a thickener precursor rather than a finishing additive. In a calcium sulfonate grease the overbased sulfonate is not a trace component blended into a base oil — it is the raw material the thickener network is built from. That is why C400GE is positioned as grease-grade: same chemistry as the detergent line, tuned for the conversion step.
How Overbased Calcium Sulfonate Becomes a Grease Thickener
A calcium sulfonate grease starts from a highly overbased calcium alkylbenzenesulfonate. During manufacture the amorphous calcium carbonate held in the micelle core is crystallised into calcite, and that dispersed crystalline calcium carbonate — together with the sulfonate soap — forms the structural network that thickens the base oil. No separate metal-soap thickener is required for the calcite route, and the crystalline particles give the grease part of its load-carrying ability without an added extreme-pressure agent.
Carbonate core to calcite network
The reserve carbonate that neutralises acid in an engine oil is repurposed in grease making: crystallised to calcite, it becomes the thickener structure itself rather than a spent base reserve.
Inherent water and corrosion resistance
Calcium sulfonate greases are valued for standing up to water washout and for protecting steel against rust — behaviour that comes from the sulfonate surface activity and the calcite structure, not from a bolt-on inhibitor.
High dropping point
The calcite-thickened structure holds consistency to high temperature, which is why this chemistry is chosen for hot bearing and heavy-load service where a simple soap grease would soften.
Not a natural fit for very high speed
Calcium sulfonate greases are generally matched to load, heat and wet duty; the highest-speed bearing applications are not where this chemistry is strongest.
Why a High Soap Content Helps a Calcium Sulfonate Grease
In this chemistry the sulfonate “soap” is the fraction that builds and holds the thickener network once the carbonate core is crystallised. A grade held at a high soap content therefore carries a high proportion of the material that forms grease structure, which is what is meant by easier to form grease: the conversion has ample surfactant available to organise the calcite into a stable fibre-and-particle network.
The other side of the same design is base reserve. C400GE provides a super-high base, so the finished grease carries reserve alkalinity for acid and corrosion control. The trade the formulator is making is clear — a grade set up for grease conversion and structure, rather than one aimed purely at being a concentrated base source for a finished oil.
Applications for Grease-Grade Overbased Calcium Sulfonate
C400GE is used as the overbased calcium sulfonate component in formulations targeting the grease types below. It is a feedstock for the grease maker, not a finished lubricant.
Calcium sulfonate complex greases
The primary use: as the overbased sulfonate that is converted into the calcite thickener of a calcium sulfonate complex grease, either alone or alongside a co-thickener.
Water-resistant and marine greases
Greases for wet, splash and washdown service — marine deck equipment, water treatment, steel and paper mills — where resistance to water washout and rust is the deciding property.
High-temperature and heavy-load bearing greases
Greases targeting hot bearing, off-highway and heavy-industrial duty, where the calcite structure supplies dropping point and load-carrying capacity.
Rust-protective and multi-purpose greases
General-purpose and protective greases where the formulator wants the sulfonate contribution to corrosion protection and adhesion built into the thickener rather than added separately.
Finished-grease classifications and performance approvals (for example NLGI consistency grade, NLGI GC-LB or HPM, and the ASTM bench tests behind them) are held by the fully formulated grease, not by an individual raw material. C400GE is one input to that formulation.
Grease Grade Versus Detergent Grade Overbased Calcium Sulfonate
CheMost makes overbased calcium sulfonate in two forms that share a chemistry but are aimed at different jobs:
C400GE — grease grade
Held at a high soap content and positioned for the grease conversion step: it forms grease readily and carries detergency, base reserve and water resistance into the finished grease. Use it when you are making a calcium sulfonate grease.
C400 — detergent grade
The same chemistry, applied as the detergent and base-reserve component of finished engine and marine oils — it neutralises the acids formed in service and keeps hot surfaces clean. Use it when you are building a crankcase or cylinder-oil package.
If your target is a finished oil rather than a grease, start from the detergent grade. If you are converting overbased calcium sulfonate into a thickener, C400GE is the grade built for it. Our technical team can help you decide against your target consistency and process.
Formulating a Calcium Sulfonate Grease With C400GE
No treat rate is published for this grade, and this page will not invent one. It would also be the wrong frame: C400GE is a thickener precursor, so “how much” is set by the target grease consistency, the conversion route and the thickener yield the process achieves — formulation and process decisions, not a dosage into a base oil. The levers that actually set the loading are the target NLGI grade and dropping point, how much of the thickener system is calcium-sulfonate-derived versus a co-thickener, the conversion promoter system, and the downstream additive package. CheMost provides formulation and conversion support on request.
Around the thickener, a calcium sulfonate grease is usually finished with additives that cover the rest of the performance envelope:
Extreme-pressure & antiwear additives
The calcite structure carries load on its own, but severe-duty greases still add sulfur–phosphorus or solid extreme-pressure and antiwear chemistry to raise load-carrying capacity and reduce wear.
Antioxidants
Grease is oxidisable soap-thickened oil; a combination of aminic and phenolic antioxidants protects it across the working temperature range and extends the usable life of the base reserve.
Rust & corrosion inhibitors
Calcium sulfonate greases are already rust-protective; where the specification is demanding, a supplementary metal sulfonate rust inhibitor or a corrosion inhibitor reinforces protection of steel and yellow metals.
Tackifiers
Polyisobutylene and similar tackifiers improve adhesion and resistance to throw-off and water spray-off in heavy-impact and open-gear service.
Documentation, Qualification & Regulatory Support
COA, SDS and certificate of origin are provided with every shipment. Full documentation is available on request rather than as a public download. Request full documentation or a sample.
Regulatory documentation
REACH, TSCA and country-specific market-registration documentation support available on request.
Third-party inspection
SGS / Intertek / BV pre-shipment inspection can be arranged on request.
Custom grades & packaging
Custom grades and packaging — drum, IBC, ISO tank.
Formulation support
Grease conversion and treat-rate guidance from our technical team.
Packaging & Global Supply
C400GE is stocked and shipped worldwide, with a typical lead time of a few working days to a couple of weeks. Samples and quotations are answered within twelve hours.
Packaging
Steel drum · IBC tote · ISO bulk.
Minimum order
One drum or one IBC — no minimum order value.
Incoterms
FOB · CIF · EXW, to suit your freight arrangement.
Loading ports
All major Chinese ports.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is grease-grade overbased calcium sulfonate (C400GE)?
It is an overbased calcium sulfonate detergent with a high soap content, made to be converted into the thickener of a calcium sulfonate grease. It shares the chemistry of a crankcase detergent — calcium carbonate held in a calcium alkylbenzenesulfonate micelle — but is tuned to form grease readily and to carry detergency, base reserve and water resistance into the finished grease.
How is C400GE different from the C400 detergent grade?
Same family, different target. C400 serves as the detergent and base-reserve component of finished engine and marine oils, where it neutralises acids formed in service. C400GE is held at a high soap content and positioned for grease making, where the overbased sulfonate is crystallised into the calcite thickener rather than blended into a base oil.
Does C400GE thicken grease on its own?
It is the raw material the thickener is built from, but a calcium sulfonate grease still needs a conversion step — crystallising the carbonate core to calcite — and usually a promoter system and finishing additives. C400GE supplies the overbased sulfonate; the grease process turns it into structure.
How much C400GE goes into a grease?
No treat rate is published for this grade and we will not borrow one from another product. As a thickener precursor rather than a finishing additive, the amount is governed by the target consistency, the conversion route and the thickener yield of your process. Our technical team can help you establish a starting point for your formulation.
Is a calcium sulfonate grease compatible with lithium or polyurea grease?
Treat different thickener types as potentially incompatible until a mix has been tested — greases built on different thickeners can perform worse when combined. When changing over from a lithium or polyurea grease, purge the system or validate compatibility for the specific pair rather than assuming it.