An overview of research on biolubricants in Malaysia and Japan for tribological applications

Abstract

Significant research and development is being done to substitute petroleum based lubricants with biolubricants derived from vegetable oils having similar physicochemical properties and tribological characteristics. This paper presents an overview of biolubricants in Malaysia and Japan for tribological applications. Research and development trends on biolubricants are described under the following categories: biolubricants as basestock, biolubricants in mixtures and biolubricants with additives. Excellent lubricant performance is obtained by biolubricant blends with selected additives. Biolubricants having similar performance to petroleum based lubricants, reduce dependence on nonrenewable resources, and increases markets industrial applications.

Keywords

• Biolubricants
• Friction
• Wear
• Biodegradability
• Sustainability