The development of an application technological no harm test for additives in heating oil is the subject of a new research project of the OWI Oel-Waerme-Institut gGmbH. The admixture of additives aims to further improve the properties of heating oil. However, the additives themselves must also be safe and must not cause any undesirable side effects in the fuel or interactions between the fuel and the technical components. With the aimed simple, standardized, economical and fast test, enterprises of the mineral oil industry could examine the operational safety of their additivated fuel oil before the sales.

An important step on the way to elucidating the causes of a reduction in the lubricity of lubricating greases in rolling bearings has been taken by the Competence Centre Tribology Mannheim and the Oel-Waerme-Institut in a joint research project. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to identify a test method that can be used for the development of lubricating greases. The TGA made it possible to differentiate quickly and cost-effectively between the greases used depending on the load and the load time.

Could diesel and gasoline vehicles make a greater contribution to climate protection in the future? This is a realistic option for the 29 companies and institutions involved in the new research project "NAMOSYN" (Nachhaltige Mobilität durch synthetische Kraftstoffe - Sustainable mobility through synthetic fuels) from research, industry, associations and society. They want to research the sustainable production and use of synthetic fuels according to ecological, economic and social criteria.

On 14 May 2019, at the invitation of the OWI Oel-Waerme-Institut gGmbH, a meeting of expert group 2 of the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AIF) took place in Herzogenrath. AiF and its member associations guarantee a qualified evaluation of projects of the Industrial Collective Research (Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung und -entwicklung -IGF).

The OWI Oel-Waerme-Institut will be represented with a stand at the "Thermprocess" trade fair, which will take place in Düsseldorf from 25 to 29 June 2019. OWI will present itself within the framework of a special show of the FOGI Forschungsgemeinschaft Industrieofenbau e.V. (Research Association for Industrial Furnace Construction) in Hall 10, Stand C 04 with current research projects. These include, for example, a project on the "Influence of thermal load changes on the service life of highly stressed furnace components made of metallic high-temperature materials".

The management of the OWI Oel-Waerme-Institut gGmbH in Aachen has restructured itself. In view of the dynamic development of alternative, climate-friendly fuels and the expansion of research activities into the mobility sector, OWI now has two joint managing directors, Dr. Wilfried Plum and Elmar Pohl. Dr. Plum will join the management of the non-profit research institute on 1 June 2019. Dr. Plum, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, will replace David Diarra, who is leaving the research institute at his own request on 30 June 2019 after many years of successful work, most recently as head of OWI.