Synthesis and Characterization of bio lubricants from non–traditional vegetable oils. Department of Industrial Chemistry Institute of Science and Technology for Advanced Studies and Research (ISTAR) Sardar Patel University Vallabh Vidhyanagar, Gujrat, India. Presented by : Tirth M. Panchal (Ph.D. Scholar) Research Guide: Dr. Jigar V. Patel

A brief idea about lubricants A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles. The property of reducing friction is known as lubricity. (Slipperiness)

Traditional Lubricating grease Greases mainly contains three basic active ingredients A Base oil. 2. A Thickener (lithium soap, calcium soap, aluminum soap, etc.) Additives (anti-oxidants, rust and corrosion inhibitors, tackifiers, etc.)

Abstract Renewable feedstock's are bound to gradually replace sources of fossil origin both as fuel and as raw materials for the chemical industry. The reason behind using renewable resources instead of petroleum oil is that they are environment friendly, economically cheaper and hence sustainable indeed. Also from the application point of view vegetable oils have viscosity indices, thermal stability, high flash and fire points and low co-efficient of friction. Vegetable oil can be chemically modified by transesterifying it with various alcohols. This modified vegetable oil was used as base oil in formulating bio based grease. The bio based grease prepared from tobacco seed oil was evaluated for its tribological properties and was found to be fit for the application.

Introduction Lubricants are essential machine elements, which are vital for efficient transportation and industrial production, and contribute enormously to energy savings and the fuel economy. Most lubricants used today, in thousands of different technical applications, are traditionally still mineral oil-based. In the last few years interest & activity has grown up around the globe to find a substitute of fossil fuel. According to the World Energy Outlook 2010 (International Energy Agency), global energy use will further increase by 36% from 2008 to 2035, of which 50% is accounted for by fossil-based resources. This has enormous implications for the environment and will endanger climate control. Global grease consumption is estimated at 1,296 KT of which industrial applications accounts for 691 KT. Mineral oil based greases account for close to 90% of the global demand, while 9 % of synthetic esters are used and only 1% of bio degradable base oils are used for manufacturing of greases. It is assumed that global consumption of grease in industrial application will be up to 758 KT till 2017.

The search for environmentally friendly materials that have potential to substitute for mineral oil in various industrial applications is nowadays being considered a top priority research topic. Bio-based lubricants are part of an overall green chemistry solution for obtaining better, environmentally safer and more economical lubrication, and for creating efficiencies in manufacturing plants, end products, or in-house fleets and maintenance programmes. Development of bio-based high-performance lubricants requires insight in the relationship between physicochemical and tribological properties of the bio-based ingredients. Use of renewable resources makes the society as well as country economically stable. Also for the countries whose economy is purely based on agriculture, gets build up rapidly.

Petroleum based lubricants Background and Motivation Petroleum based lubricants  Mineral based  Finite resources  Increasing price  Not completely biodegradable  High toxic content  50 % released into the environment  Use  Spills  Disposal

The above discussed problems can be solved by using vegetable oils instead of mineral oil as they are: 1. Easily available 2. Non toxic and easily bio degradable 3. Low volatility. 4. Can be produced easily

Life Cycle of Bio-Based Lubricants

Chemical Modifications Crude Oil Extraction Crude Oil Agriculture Oil Extraction Oil System Boundary System Boundary lubricant Vacuum Distillation lubricant Lube Distillate based Chemical Modifications Lube Oil Processing Biobased Mineral Lubricant Lube stock Use Use Pollution, Toxicity Biodegradability Disposal Disposal

Modified vegetable oils as lubricants Chemical modifications of vegetable oils makes them fit to work as base stock for lubricating grease without any thickener. Which ultimately decreases the pollution and other problems related to petroleum.

Vegetable oil can be used as lubricants by chemically modifying their structures using various unit processes such as: Esterification. Epoxidation. Estolide formation.

Esterification

Results of Co-efficient of friction analysis Sample Co-efficient of friction Dry condition 0.385 Hexyl Ester of Neem Oil 0.105 Octyl Ester of Neem Oil 0.022 Neo-pentyl glycol ester of Neem Oil 0.029 Hexyl Ester of Karanja Oil 0.118 Octyl Ester of Karanja Oil 0.112 Neo-pentyl Ester of Karanja Oil 0.072 All-purpose grease(standard) 0.102

Comparative data of TGA at 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 Celsius respectively Sample 500 Celsius 1000 Celsius 1500 Celsius 2000 Celsius Hexyl Ester of Neem Oil 99.733% 98.237% 95.542% 83.724% Octyl Ester of Neem Oil 99.944% 97.293% 93.394% 82.606% Neo-pentyl glycol ester of Neem Oil 99.983% 95.956% 89.432% 74.979% Hexyl Ester of Karanja Oil 99.959% 99.310% 97.868% 88.482% Octyl Ester of Karanja Oil 99.895% 99.759% 96.462% 76.462% Neo-pentyl Ester of Karanja Oil 99.926% 92.342% 79.530% 69.241% All-purpose grease(standard) 99.904% 90.983% 72.953% 54.372%

Viscosity analysis Sample Absolute Viscosity @ 40 degree Celsius (Centipoise) Absolute viscosity @ 100 degree Celsius Kinematic Viscosity @ 40 degree Celsius (Centistoke) Kinematic Viscosity @ 100 degree Celsius Viscosity Index Hexyl Ester of Neem Oil 40,000 11,600 47058.82 13647.05 634.87 Octyl Ester of Neem Oil 22,000 9000 25882.35 10588.23 680.83 Neo-pentyl glycol ester of Neem Oil 10,000 8000 11764.70 9411.76 806.26 Hexyl Ester of Karanja Oil 6000 3000 7058.82 3529.41 660.28 Octyl Ester of 46,000 54117.64 354.45 Neo-pentyl Ester of Karanja Oil 12,000 1000 14117.64 1176.47 315.32 All-purpose grease(standard) 1,10,000 21,000 129411.76 24705.88 600.09

Conclusion: Vegetable oil methyl esters were successfully trans-esterified using various alcohols viz. Hexanol, Octanol and Neo-Pentyl Glycol. These esters were found to have comparable and satisfactory thermal stability compared to mineral oil based all purpose grease product. Thus, these esters derived from vegetable oil- a renewable source, can be used as base stock to formulate lubricating grease. Use of such natural resource for deriving a value added product like lubricants can eliminate various problems related to environment and depletion of finite resources.

“Earth is not gifted to you by your parents, it is loaned to you by your childrens” Thank You. Contact Details: Dr. Jigar V. Patel Mr. Tirth M.Panchal E-mail: pramukhprit@yahoo.co.in E-mail: tirth.panchal@live.com Mobile No: +919898261951 Mobile No: +919974644374