Investigations on the tribological behaviour, toxicity, and biodegradability of kapok oil bio-lubricant blended with (SAE20W40) mineral oil

Abstract

Vegetable oil becomes a viable alternative to mineral or synthetic oils due to its biodegradable nature. In this work, one such vegetable-based non-edible oil (kapok oil) is blended with a mineral-based oil (SAE20W40) at 15 and 30% ratio (by volume), and its changes in thermal, tribological, and corrosive properties were evaluated. Four-ball tribometer is utilized to assess its dynamic friction coefficient and the wear scar diameter of the worn out area on the ball. Biodegradability and toxicity test of kapok oil were examined and compared with the palm and mineral oil through bacterial growth and brine shrimp assay methods, respectively. The results showed that the dynamic friction coefficient and specific wear rate of the blended oil were lesser than the mineral oil. The mineral oil produced a higher roughness average (R a) value than that of the blended oil. Kapok oil shows an adequate tribological properties (anti-friction and anti-wear) in contrast to the other vegetable oils. Overall, kapok oil had a high biodegradability nature and lower toxicity than the mineral oil.

Application of coolants during tool-based machining – A review

“…Coolants induce a number of negative impacts to the environment such as water and air pollution and the contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater, resulting in blemishing to agricultural products [6]. In addition, coolants cause skin diseases and health issues to the person/operator when in close and frequent contact [7,8].…”

Structure–activity relationship study of anti-wear additives in rapeseed oil based on machine learning and logistic regression

“…Mineral oil forms the bulk of these base oils. In order to mitigate the negative environmental impact of lubricants, 2 bio-based lubricants are becoming increasingly popular as a sustainable alternative. Bio-based lubricants are derived from animal or vegetable oils and have favourable qualities such as being environmentally friendly and biodegradable.…”

Preparing epoxidized vegetable oil from waste generated by the kapok fiber industry and assessing its thermal stabilization effect as a co-stabilizer for polyvinyl chloride

“…However, KSO also contains up to 15% cyclopropenoid fatty acids [ 6 ], which are toxic, rendering KSO unsuitable for consumption as an edible oil [ [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ]. Various non-edible applications for KSO have been explored, including biodiesel [ [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ], nanofluid [ 16 , 17 ], bio-lubricant [ 18 ], and antibacterial [ 19 ].…”