They didn't mention how long the bio-based stuff actually lasts in the environment. All the talk about "biodegradable" not coming with a timeframe, and no timeframe was given for "bio-based" beyond "quickly". That 900-day paraffin degradation is quick compared to forever-chems like PFAS, a totally different ballpark. So it's not totally contradictory to say "biodegradable paraffin lube" when compared to something like a PFTE-based lube. Especially if the bio-based stuff is, say, 450, or 600, days... It depends on context, as always.
Might also want to be careful to help ensure their meaning of "bio-based" is not diluted the same way "biodegradable" has been, since long-lived non-degradable polymers and other materials can be made with bio-based feed stock as well. Vinyl monomers can be made from plant oils, but it's still vinyl and will act like vinyl from any other source. It can also then be used in further polymerization to produce acrylic polymers that may or may not be quickly biodegradable, though it could likely still be considered "bio-based" since it started with plant-oil. The big benefit in that case is that excess feed stock and many intermediate by-products will likely be quickly biodegradable even if the final product is not.
"There is an intrinsic expectation that bio-based polymers are also biodegradable, but in reality there is no guarantee that polymers prepared from biorenewable feedstock exhibit significant or relevant biodegradability."
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6432354/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6432354/)
That said, the only PTFE thing I intentionally add to my bike is the Fox 5wt PTFE damper/bath oil for Grip2, no teflon-based chain lubes around here. Next time I see a plant-based chain lube, I'll give it a go, just for the lower-energy and lower-polluting manufacturing process. See how it compares to sparingly applied DuMonde Tech (I had a 2oz bottle of X-Lite last almost 2000 trail miles!)
Dec. 20, 2023, 9:59 a.m. - Justin White
They didn't mention how long the bio-based stuff actually lasts in the environment. All the talk about "biodegradable" not coming with a timeframe, and no timeframe was given for "bio-based" beyond "quickly". That 900-day paraffin degradation is quick compared to forever-chems like PFAS, a totally different ballpark. So it's not totally contradictory to say "biodegradable paraffin lube" when compared to something like a PFTE-based lube. Especially if the bio-based stuff is, say, 450, or 600, days... It depends on context, as always. Might also want to be careful to help ensure their meaning of "bio-based" is not diluted the same way "biodegradable" has been, since long-lived non-degradable polymers and other materials can be made with bio-based feed stock as well. Vinyl monomers can be made from plant oils, but it's still vinyl and will act like vinyl from any other source. It can also then be used in further polymerization to produce acrylic polymers that may or may not be quickly biodegradable, though it could likely still be considered "bio-based" since it started with plant-oil. The big benefit in that case is that excess feed stock and many intermediate by-products will likely be quickly biodegradable even if the final product is not. "There is an intrinsic expectation that bio-based polymers are also biodegradable, but in reality there is no guarantee that polymers prepared from biorenewable feedstock exhibit significant or relevant biodegradability." [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6432354/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6432354/) That said, the only PTFE thing I intentionally add to my bike is the Fox 5wt PTFE damper/bath oil for Grip2, no teflon-based chain lubes around here. Next time I see a plant-based chain lube, I'll give it a go, just for the lower-energy and lower-polluting manufacturing process. See how it compares to sparingly applied DuMonde Tech (I had a 2oz bottle of X-Lite last almost 2000 trail miles!)