Which are the most commonly used additives in industrial lubricants?

A lubricant is made up of base oils which can be derived from minerals (from oil refining) or synthetic oils. Performance additives are required in order to give the lubricant certain performance levels.
The most commonly used additives in industrial lubricants include antioxidants, extreme pressure additives, additives to improve the viscosity index, anti-wear additives, anti-rust additives, detergents, dispersants, anti-foaming additives, etc.

This list is very far from being exhaustive – these are simply the most commonly used additives. Machines nowadays require more and more functions from a lubricant. This is why lubrication has become such a technical field where expertise can result in significant productivity gains.