Using mineral oil based coolants for the machining of metals causes environmental problems. Besides plant seed oil, animal fat and used cooking oil proved to be raw material sources for alternative ester based coolants which can be used as substitutes for mineral oil. In this paper their properties are compared from a life cycle perspective with those of mineral oil and plant seed oil ester products regarding technical, ecological and economical aspects. In this context grinding tests, Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing were performed. The three disciplines are brought together in a material flow model and, therefore, results are well harmonized.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.