Enhancement of <i>Jatropha curcas</i> Based Oil-Derived Biolubricant Properties by Esterification of 2,3-Butanediol

Abstract

Vegetable oils and animal fats and have been extensively used for biolubricant purposes for countless years. Through the discovery of petroleum and the availability of inexpensive oils, the vegetable oils or their derivatives are decent alternatives to replace the existence of petroleum oils as lubricants or lubricant additives in numerous industrial applications. In addition, vegetable oils have a very high viscosity index and it does not distress by the high temperature. Apart from that, the high flash point and low volatility are also known as the vegetable oil’s forte, making it always be prominent compared to the other oils. However, vegetable oils also have been reported to have a low thermal and oxidative stability, which attain less auspicious to be used as a lubricant. In this study, the Jatropha Curcas oil had been used as a raw material in the production of the biolubricant process with the enhancement of the lubricant properties by the aid of 2,3-butanediol. Initially, the Jatropha Curcas was hydrolyzed to obtain the fatty acid before being further esterified with 2,3 butanediol (acted as capping material) to form ester 2,3-butanediol. The hydrolyzed and esterified products have been analyzed by using the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectra (GC-MS) and the Fourier Transforms Infra-Red (FTIR). The GCMS results showed the composition of fatty acids and ester formed remain 95-99% in the product. The absorption wavelength was detected around 1715.93 cm-1, further confirming the formation of ester 2,3-butanediol. Overall, the pour point of the product was obtained as low as 5 °C with a flash point at 210 °C and the viscosity of ester 2,3-butanediol was 60.9 cp. (0.78 in).