Enhancing Trimethylolpropane Trioleate Biolubricant With Methyl Laurate Additive

Vegetable oil derived biolubricant often suffer from low oxidative and thermal oxidative stability, limiting their effectiveness as lubricants. Chemical modification through the addition of additive offers a solution to enhance their physicochemical and tribological properties. This study aims to analyse the impact of incorporating Methyl Laurate (ML) as an additive to Trimethylolpropane (TMP) Trioleate biolubricant and determine the optimal ML concentration. Three types of ML provided by Wilmar Oleochemicals & Biofuels were tested, with ML concentrations ranging up to 15 wt% in TMP trioleate. The double bond content, evaluated through the iodine value (IV), influenced the oxidative stability of the biolubricant. Wettability was assessed using Image J software following ASTM D733, and viscosity-temperature relations were analysed to determine the viscosity index (VI) according to ASTM D445. Results showed that 100% ME1299 ML type exhibited the lowest IV, better wettability, and higher VI. Therefore, adding 15 wt% of 100% ME1299 ML to TMP trioleate yielded the most desirable combination, resulting in improved viscosity-temperature relations compared to the base oil.