Synthesis of epoxy jatropha oil and its evaluation for lubricant properties

Epoxidation of Methyl Esters as Valuable Biomolecules: Monitoring of Reaction

The paper is focused on the epoxidation of methyl esters prepared from oil crops with various profiles of higher fatty acids, especially unsaturated, which are mainly contained in the non-edible linseed and Camelina sativa oil (second generation). The novelty consists in the separation and identification of all products with oxirane ring formed through a reaction and in the determination of time course. Through the epoxidation, many intermediates and final products were formed, i.e., epoxides with different number and/or different position of oxirane rings in carbon chain. For the determination, three main methods (infrared spectroscopy, high-pressure liquid chromatography and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry) were applied. Only gas chromatography enables the separation of individual epoxides, which were identified on the base of the mass spectra, molecule ion and time course of products. The determination of intermediates enables: (i) control of the epoxidation process, (ii) determination of the mixture of epoxides in detail and so the calculation of selectivity of each product. Therefore, the epoxidation will be more environmentally friendly especially for advanced applications of non-edible oil crops containing high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids.

Sustainable Vegetable Oil-Based Biomaterials: Synthesis and Biomedical Applications

One of the main criteria for ecological sustainability is that the materials produced for common use are green. This can include the use of biomaterials and materials that are environmentally friendly, biodegradable and produced at low cost. The exploration of natural resources as sustainable precursors leads to the production of biopolymers that are useful for 3D printing technology. Recently, waste vegetable oils have been found to be a good alternative source for the production of biopolymers in various applications from the engineering to the biomedicine. In this review, the processes for the synthesis of vegetable oil-based biomaterials are described in detail. Moreover, the functionalization strategies to improve the mechanical properties of these materials and the cell-material interaction for their potential use as micro-structured scaffolds in regenerative medicine are discussed.

A comparative physicochemical property assessment and techno-economic analysis of biolubricants produced using chemical modification and additive-based routes

Several edible and non-edible oil sources are currently being developed as renewable basestocks for biolubricant production. However, these feedstocks possess undesirable physicochemical properties limiting their lubricant applications. Chemical modification and additive-based routes could be used to modify their properties -suitable for different biolubricant applications. The first part of this study compares how the selected modifications affect the properties of the basestocks. Next, the techno-economic analysis (TEA) was conducted to study 4 selected biolubricants and a potential biolubricant derived from marine microalgae biomass. Oxidative stabilities of chemically modified biolubricants followed the order of epoxidation> triesterification> estolide. Pour points of triesters showed minimal increments and reduced for estolides, whereas epoxidation increased pour points. Estolides exhibit maximum kinematic viscosity increment among chemical modification routes, followed by TMP-transesterification and epoxidation. The oxidative stability of chemically modified biolubricants was higher than additized biolubricants; conversely, the viscosity increments and pour point reductions for additized biolubricants were higher than chemically modified biolubricants. TEA results show that the unit cost for producing 1-kg estolide was the highest among the chemical modification routes. The unit cost per kilogram of jatropha biolubricant produced using the additive-based route was lower than chemically modified biolubricants. Due to a high microalgal oil feedstock cost, the unit cost per kilogram of additized microalgae oil biolubricant was more than the unit cost of additized Jatropha oil. The techno-economic feasibility of biolubricant production from marine microalgal oil could be improved by adopting a biorefinery approach.

A novel class of bio-lubricants are synthesized by epoxidation of 10-undecylenic acid-based esters

Mineral-based lubricants are being supplanted by bio-based lubricants because of environmental concerns and the depletion of fossil resources. The derivatives of edible and non-edible oils are considered potential alternatives to existing natural mineral oil base stocks in certain lubricant applications, where immediate intraction with the environment is predicted. A new class of epoxides were synthesized from the undecylenic esters of 2-ethyl hexanol, neopentyl glycol (NPG), and trimethylolpropane (TMP). These unsaturated esters were epoxidized by using meta chloro perbenzoic acid. The synthesized epoxides were characterized by spectral studies (1HNMR, 13CNMR, IR) physio-chemical (density, specific gravity) and lubricant properties (kinematic viscosity, viscosity index, flash point, fire point, cloud point, pour point, copper strip corrosion). TMP epoxide has a high viscosity index, high flash point, and low pour point compared to 2-ethyl hexyl epoxide and NPG epoxide.

Bio-additives Derived from Ricinoleic Acid and Choline with Improved Tribological Properties in Lithium Base Grease

In this study, bio-based ionic liquid prepared from ricinoleic acid and choline was firstly used as additive in lithium base grease. The characterization and tribological performance of the prepared ionic liquid ([cho][ricinoleic]) as additive in grease were studied compared with the traditional ionic liquid such as L-P104. All the concentrations showed promising friction-reducing and anti-wear properties, though a 3% concentration has superior lubricating properties than others. Furthermore, [cho][ricinoleic]) can greatly enhance the lubrication capability of lithium base greaseunder different frequency and load at room temperature. Although L-P104 showed good lubricating performance than [cho][ricinoleic] at 150°C, the chosen formulation (1.5% [cho][ricinoleic] + 1.5% L-P104) could have better synergism at high and room temperature, which could be a good supplement to ionic liquid as grease additive. Thin films formed according to the results of SEM and XPS were attributed to be the main account for the preferable tribological properties of [cho][ricinoleic] in lithium base grease.

The Catalysed Transformation of Vegetable Oils or Animal Fats to Biofuels and Bio-Lubricants: A Review

This review paper summarizes the current state-of-the-art of the chemical transformation of oils/fats (i.e., triacylglycerols) to the use of biofuels or bio-lubricants in the means of transport, which is a novelty. The chemical transformation is necessary to obtain products that are more usable with properties corresponding to fuels synthesized from crude oil. Two types of fuels are described—biodiesel (the mixture of methyl esters produced by transesterification) and green diesel (paraffins produced by hydrogenation of oils). Moreover, three bio-lubricant synthesis methods are described. The transformation, which is usually catalysed, depends on: (i) the type and composition of the raw material, including alcohols for biodiesel production and hydrogen for green diesel; (ii) the type of the catalyst in the case of catalysed reactions; (iii) the reaction conditions; and (iv) types of final products. The most important catalysts, especially heterogeneous and including reaction conditions, for each product are described. The properties of biodiesel and green diesel and a comparison with diesel from crude oil are also discussed.

Non Edible Oil-Based Epoxy Resins from Jatropha Oil and Their Shape Memory Behaviors

The use of bio-based polymers in place of conventional polymers gives positives effects in the sense of reduction of environmental impacts and the offsetting of petroleum consumption. As such, in this study, jatropha oil was used to prepare epoxidized jatropha oil (EJO) by the epoxidation method. The EJO was used to prepare a shape memory polymer (SMP) by mixing it with the curing agent 4-methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHPA) and a tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) catalyst. The resulting bio-based polymer is slightly transparent and brown in color. It has soft and flexible properties resulting from the aliphatic chain in jatropha oil. The functionality of SMP was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. The thermal behavior of the SMP was measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and it showed that the samples were thermally stable up to 150 °C. Moreover, the glass transition temperature characteristic was obtained using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The shape memory recovery behavior was investigated. Overall, EJO/MHPA was prepared by a relatively simple method and showed good shape recovery properties.

The optimization of heterogeneous catalytic conditions in the direct alkylation of waste vegetable oil

Alkylated waste vegetable oil is a versatile intermediate product in the synthesis of bio-based materials. Heterogeneous catalytic condition with high conversion rate in the direct alkylation of waste vegetable oil was reported and the deactivation mechanism of catalyst was revealed. The total exchange capacity, elemental composition and pyrolysis product of catalyst before and after the alkylation reaction were analysed by back titration, elemental analysis, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, gas chromatography mass spectrometry and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, respectively. The results indicated that the metallic and non-metallic (C, H) elements contents of the catalyst have very much increased with great changes in pyrolysis product and a slight decrease in the total exchange capacity. The formation of insoluble polymers through Diels-Alder cycloaddition between triglycerides was proved to be the major factor causing the dysfunction of the catalytic centre. The metal ions from corrosion of the reactor were the minor factor causing about 2.56% loss of the catalytic centre. Moreover, the catalyst was able to maintain high catalytic efficiency when replacing the raw materials with other waste vegetable oil having low concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which is significant for producing not only the aryl fatty acids derivatives but also the bio-based surfactants.

Thermal and Flammability Characteristics of Blended Jatropha Bio-Epoxy as Matrix in Carbon Fiber–Reinforced Polymer

This purpose of this paper was to reveal characteristics of a composite structure containing carbon fiber as a reinforcement and blended synthetic epoxy/bio-epoxy derived from crude jatropha oil as resin and compared with fully synthetic epoxy. The composite structure was prepared by the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding technique and was left to cure for 24 h at room temperature. Both were characterized for their thermal, chemical, and flammable characteristics. The incorporation of jatropha bio-epoxy into the matrix significantly improved the thermal stability between 288–365 °C as obtained by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) test. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) curves showed slight diminution of performances and Tg from DMA tests confirmed well with the trend of Tg obtain by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. On the other hand, the flammability property was rated horizontal burning (HB) which was the same as the fully synthetic composite, but the duration to self-extinguish was halved for the composite with jatropha bio-epoxy. Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance (FT-IR/ATR) was conducted to determine the difference of functional groups’ spectrum due to bonding type existing on both specimens. Overall, the composite specimen with blended bio-epoxy exhibited better thermal stability, comparable flammability characteristics, and performances. The aim of this paper was to introduce bio-based epoxy as a potential alternative epoxy and to compete with synthetic epoxy so as to minimize the footprint of non-renewable composite.

A review on green trend for oil extraction using subcritical water technology and biodiesel production

It became a global agenda to develop clean alternative fuels which were domestically available, environmentally acceptable and technically feasible. Thus, biodiesel was destined to make a substantial contribution to the future energy demands of the domestic and industrial economies. Utilization of the non edible vegetable oils as raw materials for biodiesel production had been handled frequently for the past few years. The oil content of these seeds could be extracted by different oil extraction methods, such as mechanical extraction, solvent extraction and by subcritical water extraction technology SWT. Among them, SWT represents a new promising green extraction method. Therefore this review covered the current used non edible oil seeds for biodiesel production as well as giving a sharp focus on the efficiency of using the SWT as a promising extraction method. In addition the advantages and the disadvantages of the different biodiesel production techniques would be covered.