Characterization of Biofluid-Based Coolant-Mix Produced From Emulsified Groundnut Oils

Abstract

Coolants are generally heat transfer fluids used as cutting fluids for machining or engine cooling. They are generally mixture of various constituents and their chemistry is responsible for their performance, acceptability and shelf lives. With much known about the merit of agro-based materials, this study proposes the use of bio-waters in coolant-mix as a substitute for ordinary water commonly used as base fluids. Water extract from fermented ground maize (WEFGM) employed as bio-water was emulsified in bio-oils (groundnut oils) to form a complete bio-fluid based for the coolant to which other additives are added to form the test solutions. Replicate samples were formulated with similar standards using deionized WEFGM and deionized water for comparison at 5 and 10%vol of additives. Following various analytical tests, the developed coolant samples have concentration 2.33-2.58mg/L, total dissolved solids 31.2-73.2 g/L, pH 1.85-2.50, specific gravity 1.29-1.31 and viscosity 8.12-11.44 cSt. At both additive concentrations, the biofluid-based samples have proven better in terms of all these properties than water which is generally considered as the most suitable and being currently used as base fluid in most heat transfer applications.