Chemical transformation of Jojoba oil and Soybean oil and study of their uses as bio-lubricants

Abstract

Bio-based lubricants have traditionally piqued interest as a supplement to mineral oil-based lubricants in response to rising environmental pollution concerns and declining petroleum assets. This paper discussed the synthesis of bio-lubricants from vegetable oils such as soybean (SOY), and jojoba (JOJ) oil using chemical transformation methods such as epoxidation of the carbon-carbon double bonds in the structure of their already high resistance to air oxidation using a combined catalyst of Amberlite IR 120 and peroxide catalyst with high yield (80 %), followed by transesterification, ring-opening of vegetable oils, and finally acetylation of the hydroxylated obtained products. The rheological and tribological characteristics of the compounds produced were examined to validate their suitability as bio-lubricants using FT-IR, 1H NMR, and TGA techniques. These results demonstrate the possibility of an environmentally sustainable method for producing bio-lubricants.