A Review of the Preparation, Enhancement and Properties of Plant Oil-Based Biolubricant

The employment of lubricants derived from fossil fuels has rapidly lost preference in favour of its equivalent, known as biolubricants. This shift results from the harmful environmental implications and non-biodegradability of items obtained from fossil fuels. They contaminate the land, water, and air, harming both plant and human life. Thus, the requirement for substitutes. Biolubricants are not as widely used as those derived from fossil fuels despite their biodegradability and sustainability. The use of biolubricants can only surpass that of fossil fuels if research and development are encouraged. The need for biolubricants surged in tandem with the introduction of environmental rules aimed at curbing environmental damage. Because they are renewable, eco-friendly, and biodegradable, vegetable oils have the potential to be used as base fluids in biolubricants. They have superior physicochemical qualities, such as enhanced friction coefficient, greater viscosity index, and excellent lubricity, when produced properly. They have higher physicochemical qualities (high flash points, pour points, greater viscosity index, friction coefficient, and better skin compatibility) when handled properly. Even though using an untreated vegetable oil lubricant has certain disadvantages, such as poor oxidative stability and poor low temperature performance, these characteristics have been enhanced by the application of various chemical modification techniques, including epoxidation, hydrogenation, transesterification, and formation of estolides. An overview of the most recent developments in novel chemical modification techniques that have produced biolubricants with enhanced physicochemical qualities is given in this article.