Bio-based lubricant from animal fats

Abstract: Regular lard (RL) was chemically modified through the incorporation of isopropyl group on carbon-carbon double bonds in triglyceride molecules to produce isopropyl branched lard (BL). The molecular structure of BL was determined with GC-MS, NMR (1H, 13C, 2-D), and IR spectroscopy. The physical, tribological and chemical properties of the RL and BL as well as their blends in polyalphaolefin (PAO) and high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSuO) were investigated. The BL exhibited better solubility both in HOSuO and PAO than RL at room temperature. Compared to RL, BL also exhibited higher density, viscosity, improved oxidative stability and cold flow properties both as a neat material and blends in HOSuO or PAO. However, BL displayed lower viscosity index (197 vs 162) compared to RL. Both RL and BL displayed similar lubricity as HOSuO and showed potential such as a good lubricity additive in PAO even in small amounts (~10 wt. %) as demonstrated by low friction coefficient and wear scar diameter values. This study demonstrates that introducing alkyl branching into lard can lead to improved physico-chemical properties and lubrication performance.