Production of plastic lubricants based on chemically modified vegetable oils

The study examined the process of creating biodegradable plastic lubricants (BPSM). Certain proportions of a mixture of vegetable oils (sunflower, corn) and mineral oils were selected. Vegetable oil glycerates are chemically modified. The effect of functional groups included in the composition of vegetable oil triglycerides during chemical modification on the rheological, tribological properties and the process of biodegradation of plastic lubricants was studied. When using only vegetable (sunflower, corn) oil as a dispersion medium of plastic lubricant, the biodegradation of this lubricant was 90– 95 %. Biodegradable lubricants should contain vegetable oils as a dispersion medium or a mixture of two oils (one vegetable and one mineral). Mineral oil (T-1500 or T-46) mixed with biodegradable vegetable oil was used as a dispersion medium in the study. The created lubricants have a biodegradability of at least 80 % (according to the ASTM D-5864 method). Vegetable oil glycerates (sunflower, corn), chemically modified by sulfurization with a sulfur content of 12 %, were used as a dispersed phase. To obtain sulfurized oil, sulfur was added to vegetable oil heated to 125–135 oC with continuous stirring, then the process was continued at 150–165 oC, increasing the temperature by 10–30 oC per hour. Additives are not used, since the functional groups included in the composition of vegetable oil triglycerides during chemical modification have a positive effect on the rheological, tribological properties and the process of biodegradation of plastic lubricant. When creating biodegradable plastic lubricants (BPSM), sulfurized vegetable oil heated to 100–110 oC (37–40 wt. %) was intensively mixed with 1/3 of T-1500 transformer oil distillate for 1 hour, at a reduced temperature of 70–78 oC it was neutralized with a suspension of calcium hydroxide (5–6 %) in water (11–13 %), the reaction mass was heated at 106–115 oC for 1 hour to simultaneously remove bound water. Heating was stopped and the remaining 2/3 of T-1500 transformer oil distillate were added. The process duration was 2–3 hours. To study the dependence of lubricant properties on mineral oil, lubricant samples were prepared and compared by replacing T-1500 transformer oil distillate with T-46 turbine oil. It has been determined that the optimal technological parameters for obtaining an effective lubricant depend on the temperature regime of the sulfurization process (T = 150–165 oC), the mass fraction of sulfur (5–12 %), the amount of modified vegetable raw materials (sunflower, corn) oil in the lubricant (22–40 %), and the mixture depends on the nature of the dispersion medium (vegetable oils or a mixture of two oils – vegetable and mineral T-1500 or T-46). Bio lubricants should be used in all cases where there is an environmental risk to the environment.