Investigations into the epoxidation and alcoholysis of oleochemicals for use as lubricants

Abstract

AbstractMost lubricants and functional fluids worldwide are based on mineral oil. These fluids contain up to 10% of a wide variety of additives for the improvement of their tribological properties. Several of these are still ecologically hazardous.From an environmental point of view, the use of renewable feedstock is of great interest. In Europe rape seed oil is available in substantial amounts and its esters (triglycerides, esters with saturated or partly unsaturated acids) to some extent display better tribological properties than conventional lubricants. The aim of the work which is presented here has been to improve the stability of these types of ester and their derivatives with regard to oxidation and hydrolysis. This can be done by the addition of different carboxylic acids and alcohols, of various complexities, to the double bonds. This paper deals with the indirect addition of different alcohols, such as methanol, isobutanol, and neopentanol, to the double bond of methyl oleate, and the addition of methanol to the double bonds of glycerin trioleate using the corresponding epoxides as intermediates. The reactions were carried out with environmentally friendly heterogeneous catalysts. Several tests, such as for viscosity, oxidation stability, and biodegradability, were carried out to demonstrate the potential of these newly developed fluids for use as lubricants.