Lubrication properties of trimethylolpropane esters based on palm oil and palm kernel oils

Abstract

Due to the global drive towards biodegradable products, trimethylolpropane [2-ethyl-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol] (TMP) esters based on palm and palm kernel oils were synthesized, their lubrication properties evaluated, and their potential as base stock for biodegradable lubricants assessed. Two types of TMP esters were considered: palm kernel (PKOTE) and palm oil (PPOTE) TMP esters, derived from palm oil and palm kernel methyl esters, respectively. Lubrication properties such as viscosity, viscosity index (VI) and pour point (PP) were determined according to methods of the American Society for Testing and Materials. Wear and friction properties were evaluated using a four-ball test machine, while oxidative stability was studied with the Penn State Micro-oxidation thin-film test. High VI ranges between 170 to 200 were recorded for these base stocks. PP were relatively high, between 4 to -1 °C, but were improved to at least -33 °C in high oleic palm oil TMP esters. The effects of chemical structure and impurities on wear properties and oxidative stability were also studied. The presence of methyl esters was found to improve wear, but hydroxyl groups in mono-and diesters had negative effects at high concentrations. Differences in chemical structures of PKOTE and PPOTE were shown to affect friction and wear results. Both base fluids exhibit oxidative stability comparable to other high oleic base fluids.Keywords: Biodegradable lubricant, palm oil, palm kernel oil, trimethylolpropane esters.Correspondence: Robiah Yunus, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Phone: +60-3-89466291/019-6969106, Fax: +60-3-86567099; e-mail: robiah@eng.upm.edu.my

Production of environmentally adapted lubricant basestock from jatropha curcas specie seed oil

“…Pour point, viscosities, flash point and viscosity index were also determined by appropriate analysis [34]. The unreacted methyl ester was not removed before measuring the properties of the biobased TMP ester to eliminate potential conjugation reaction at destructive high temperature (180-200°C) molecular distillation (needed to remove unreacted methyl ester) involving poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and also improve wear resistance of the biobased TMP ester [6,36]. Meanwhile, specified measurements of product (JBL) properties were selectively done for only JME-TMP mole ratio of 4:1 at 140°C as indicated in ''Lubricating properties of jatropha biolubricant''.…”

Green waxes, adhesives and lubricants

“…These and other estolides are biodegradable and frequently considered to be applicable as lubricants (Bírová et al 2002;Meier et al 2007). Other examples are hydrogenation (King et al 2001), esterification (Erhan et al 2006a;Doll et al 2007), epoxidation (Hwang & Erhan 2001;Bírová et al 2002;Hwang et al 2003), metathesis (Verkuijlen et al 1977;Erhan et al 1997;Holser et al 2006), acylation (Schmidt et al 2006) and transesterification (Bírová et al 2002;Yunus et al 2004) that have all been used in order to synthesize an improved product.…”

Palm Oil Derived Trimethylolpropane Triesters Synthetic Lubricants and Usage in Industrial Metalworking Fluid

“…Thus, TMPTO-A has lower density than Radialube 7561 but similar to density with HO-TMPTE. 3.2.4 Viscosity and Viscosity Index VI Viscosity of vegetable oil based materials increases with the presence of partial esters and intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl group -OH of the partial esters 8 . This effect was observed between Radialube 7561…”

“…TMP triesters are among the PE of interest in the lubricant industry for its wide viscosity range, high flash point and fire retardant attributes. The fatty acids being considered most in the synthesis of TMP triesters are pure caprylic acid 5 , oleic acid 6 , rapeseed oil 7 , olive oil 7 , animal fats 7 , palm oil 8 , rubber seed oil 9 etc.…”