TRIBOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BIODIESEL DERIVED WASTE PALM COOKING OIL (WPCO)

Abstract

The demand for sustainable and renewable energy sources is rising globally, which has increased interest in biodiesel manufacturing. The generation of biodiesel derived waste palm cooking oil (WPCO) is the main topic of this study. A versatile and easily accessible feedstock for the synthesis of biodiesel is palm frying oil, which is frequently used in culinary applications. WPCO is transformed into biodiesel using a process called transesterification, in which the oil's triglycerides combine with an alcohol, usually methanol, in the presence of a catalyst.
 The oils were analyzed for their chemical and physical properties such as viscosity and density. The frictional test was carried out using Pin-on-Disc Tribometer for different loads and speeds. The findings show that lubricants based on WPCO and WPME have remarkable anti-wear properties and have promise for usage in industrial and automotive applications. WPCO is found to have better performance to be used as an engine lubricant while WPME has the lowest potential to be a lubricant because of its low viscosity and high coefficient of friction. It can be found that WPCO which has higher viscosity presents a wear scar diameter of 1.888 mm and a total average CoF of 0.4296. As for WPME, the wear scar diameter is 2.062 mm with a CoF of 0.5483. The surface area of WPCO values was found to be about 9.2% less than WPME. The higher the CoF, the larger the wear scar diameter. The lubricant film of WPME is too thin to provide total surface separation. Contact between the surface asperities occurs.