Lauric Acid-based Polyol Esters as Potential Bio-based Lubricants for Diesel Fuel

Abstract

In this paper, lubricants based on lauric acid and different polyols – neopentyl glycol (NPG), trimethylolpropane (TMP) and pentaerythritol (PE) – were synthesized. After purification, their purity of > 97 mol% was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and pro-ton nuclear magnetic resonance. Synthesized lubricants 100 to 5000 ppm formulations with diesel showed similar density, kinematic viscosity, and low-temperature behavior to diesel according to standard tests, meaning that they can be used in current diesel en-gines. They have improved the lubricity of the formulations, as confirmed by a lower coefficient of friction, and an almost 50 % improvement in wear scar diameter (accord-ing to EN 12156-1).