ARS | Publication request: LUBRICANT FORMULATION WITH VEGETABLE OILS

Submitted to: Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 20, 2004
Publication Date: May 20, 2004
Citation: Biresaw, G. 2004. Lubricant formulation with vegetable oils - interfacial aspects. (Abstract) Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. p.172.

Technical Abstract: Vegetable oils are amphiphilic fluids since their molecules comprise distinctly separated polar and non-polar groups. As a result, vegetable oils can be used both as base oils and film strength additives in lubricant formulation. However, for some lubricant applications, vegetable oils by themselves might not be adequate to provide all the necessary needs. In such cases, the vegetable oils are blended with synthetic or mineral oils, which are non-polar. Such blending of amphiphilic fluids with non-polar oils will have a profound effect on various properties of the blend, and most notably its surface and interfacial properties. Surface and interfacial properties are particularly important because they affect various lubricant functions, including the formulation of water-based lubricants from such neat blends. In this work, the dynamic interfacial tension between synthetic oil and water is investigated as a function of vegetable oil chemistry, and vegetable oil concentration in the synthetic oil. The impacts of the resulting observations on the lubricating and non-lubricating properties of such blends are discussed.