Abstract
The biolubricant term applies to all lubricants that biodegrade rapidly and which are non-toxic for human beings and aquatic habitats. Polyol esters-based biolubricants are preferable for all applications that not present risks to the environment due to it biodegradable manner. In this work, polyol ester-based biolubricant was synthesized through homogeneous acid-catalysed esterification of crude palm kernel fatty acids (CPKFAs) with polyhydric alcohol di-trimethylolpropane (di-TMP). The esterification process was optimized via D-optimal design of response surface methodology. The optimum condition for maximum yield and selectivity was observed at 5:1 M ratio of CPKFAs to di-TMP, 5.6 h of reaction time, 156 °C of reaction temperature, and 1.5% of H2SO4 respectively. The optimum esterification process produced 83.2 ± 0.5% yield of crude palm kernel fatty acids di-trimethylolpropane (CPKFAs-di-TMPTE) with 92.7 ± 0.5% tetra-ester selectivity. The chemical structure and ester composition of synthesised tetra-ester were characterized by using FTIR, NMR (1H and 13C) spectroscopy and GC chromatography analysis techniques. CPKFAs-di-TMP tetra-ester recorded oxidative stability temperature at 252 °C, thermal stability at 431 °C, pour point at −5 °C, flash point at 360 °C, and viscosity index of 142. The CPKFAs-di-TMP recorded its tribological properties with small friction coefficient with Newtonian fluids behaviour. The synthesised CPKFAs-di-TMPTE green biolubricant was compatible with some selected commercial lubricants. It can be categorised as ISO VG 68 lubricant and plausible for various industrial applications in tropical countries at medium-range operation temperature.
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