Lubricity of bio-based lubricant derived from chemically modified jatropha methyl ester

Abstract

Many studies have been undertaken with a view to using chemically modified vegetable oil as a bio-based lubricant. This research focused on tribological properties of trimethylolpropane (TMP) ester, which is derived from renewable resource. This TMP ester was produced from jatropha methyl ester; it is biodegradable and has high lubricity properties. Two different conditions of lubrication are being investigated: extreme pressure and anti-wear. It was found that the TMP ester (Jatropha) has better lubricity in terms of wear and friction compared to paraffin oil under extreme pressure conditions. TMP ester (Jatropha) has similar characteristics to fully formulated lubricant (FFL), in terms of the coefficient of friction (CoF). In terms of the anti-wear condition, TMP ester (Jatropha) has the lowest CoF; however it also has the high wear scar diameter. This is due to corrosion and chemical attack.

Keywords

• Synthetic lubricant
• Bio-based lubricant
• Jatropha