RSM and Artificial Neural Networking based production optimization of sustainable Cotton bio-lubricant and evaluation of its lubricity & tribological properties

Depletion of mineral reservoirs along with health and environmental concerns have led to a greater focus on bio-lubricants. The purpose of this study was to analyze and optimize the reaction conditions of the transesterification process for cotton biolubricant synthesis by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). In RSM, Rotatable central composite design was selected to examine the effect of reaction input factors on the yield of cotton bio-lubricant during the transesterification process. ANOVA analysis showed that temperature was the most significant factor followed by time, pressure and catalyst-concentration. Optimum reaction conditions obtained by RSM for maximum TMP tri-ester (cotton bio-lubricant) yield of about 37.52% were 144 °C temperature, 10 h time, 25 mbar pressure, and 0.8% catalyst-concentration. RSM predicted results were successfully validated experimentally and by artificial neural networking. About 90%–94% cotton seed oil bio-lubricant was obtained after purification and its physiochemical, lubricity and tribological properties were evaluated and found comparable with ISO VG-46 and SAE-40 mineral lubricant. Hence, cottonseed oil is a potential source for the bio-lubricant industry

Tribological evaluation of solid lubricant enriched in modified Jatropha-Based Oil as Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) oil for composite material

The use of lubricant during the machining process plays an important role to reduce friction and wear. Mineral-based oil is the most widely used lubricant that provided high-quality lubrication properties. However, mineral-based oil has poor biodegradability and causes long-term pollution to the environment and harmful to human. Implementation of environmental-friendly lubricant was encouraged to achieve sustainable manufacturing practices. The inherent biodegradability of vegetable-based oil with solid particle offers greater benefit to the environment and lubrication performance. The study aims to evaluate the influence of green solid particle (hexagonal boron nitride, hBN) enriched in the modified jatropha oil (MJO) through tribology testing using four-ball tribotestermachine. hBN particlewas added inMJOat various concentration ratio; 0.05wt% and 0.5wt%. TheMJOsamples were compared with the crude jatropha oil and commercial synthetic ester. The tribology testing was conducted according to ASTM D4712. The value of coefficient of friction, wear scar diameter, worn surface analysis and surface roughness were evaluated. The lowest concentration of hBN particles in MJO (MJO + 0.05 wt% hBN) has reduced the coefficient of friction with smaller wear scar diameter and better surface roughness quality. The worn surface analysis from the ball lubricate byMJO + 0.05 wt% hBN had light and shallow grooves. The study proved that MJO + 0.05 wt% hBN exhibits better lubrication ability and suitable as an alternative for the environmental-friendly lubricant especially for minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) oil

Influence of polymethyl acrylate additive on the formation of particulate matter and NOX emission of a biodiesel-diesel-fueled engine.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the polymethyl acrylate (PMA) additive on the formation of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emission from a diesel coconut and/or Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel-fueled engine. The physicochemical properties of 20% of coconut and/or C. inophyllum biodiesel-diesel blend (B20), 0.03 wt% of PMA with B20 (B20P), and diesel fuel were measured and compared to ASTM D6751, D7467, and EN 14214 standard. The test results showed that the addition of PMA additive with B20 significantly improves the cold-flow properties such as pour point (PP), cloud point (CP), and cold filter plugging point (CFPP). The addition of PMA additives reduced the engine's brake-specific energy consumption of all tested fuels. Engine emission results showed that the additive-added fuel reduce PM concentration than B20 and diesel, whereas the PM size and NOX emission both increased than B20 fuel and baseline diesel fuel. Also, the effect of adding PMA into B20 reduced Carbon (C), Aluminum (Al), Potassium (K), and volatile materials in the soot, whereas it increased Oxygen (O), Fluorine (F), Zinc (Zn), Barium (Ba), Chlorine (Cl), Sodium (Na), and fixed carbon. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) results for B20P showed the lower agglomeration than B20 and diesel fuel. Therefore, B20P fuel can be used as an alternative to diesel fuel in diesel engines to lower the harmful emissions without compromising the fuel quality

Antiwear behavior of CuO nanoparticles as additive in bio-based lubricant

This work presents and discusses the anitwear characteristics of surface modified CuO nanoparticle suspensions in bio-based lubricant. 1.0 wt% unmodified as well as surface modified CuO nanoparticles (nominal size of 50 nm), were dispersed in base oil using an ultrasonic probe. Wear protection was evaluated by using Four-Ball Extreme Pressure (EP) testing and sliding wear tests. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis of the worn surface shows that: surface modification helped to improve the dispersion stability of CuO nanoparticles and related suspension show high EP characteristics in terms of load wear index and low cylinder liner wear due to surface mending effect of nanoparticles

Physicochemical and tribological properties of microalgae oil as biolubricant for hydrogen-powered engine

Hydrogen fuel offers a cleaner fuel alternative to fossil fuel due to more efficient burning as well as reduces the environmental and health issues brought by fossil fuel usage. In engine application, regardless of either pure hydrogen or in combination with air or/and other biofuel, all the moving parts are exposed to friction and wear, and lubricant is used to minimize friction and wear for optimum operation. Thus, in this study, the use of microalgae oil as an alternative biolubricant is evaluated from the physicochemical and tribological aspects. It is found that modified microalgae oil (MMO) has demonstrated great anti-friction and anti-wear potential, particularly the 10% modified microalgae oil blend (MMO-10). The coefficient of friction is reduced (up to 10.1%) and significant reductions of wear loss and surface roughness are obtained in comparison to pure poly-alpha-olefin. Lubricant's heat dissipation is also enhanced with MMO addition, demonstrating great prospect for MMO for hydrogen-powered engine utilization

Sustainability of Palm Biodiesel in Transportation: a Review on Biofuel Standard, Policy and International Collaboration Between Malaysia and Colombia.

Biodiesel is gaining prominence as a superior alternative source of energy to replace petroleum-based fuel in transportation. As of today, the biodiesel market continuous to rise up as the biofuel has been introduced to more than 60 countries worldwide. The aim of the present review is to highlight on the scenario of the biofuel implementation in transportation sector towards sustainable development in Colombia and Malaysia. Colombia serves as an ideal comparative case for Malaysia in terms of biodiesel development since the country is the main palm oil producer in Latin America region and the pioneer in bioethanol industry. The first section shows an overview on the biodiesel as an alternative fuel in transportation. The next section will focus on a comparative study between Malaysia and Colombia biodiesel sector in terms of energy supply, resource, production and consumption, standards, techno-economic cost and their biodiesel policies. A comprehensive review was studied to discuss on the sustainability of palm cultivation and biodiesel, impact of palm industry and biodiesel policy in transportation sector and potential international collaboration between Malaysia and Colombia to improve their existing policies, strategies and blueprints related to the palm biodiesel industry, thus overcoming the challenges when dealing with global energy issue

Lubricity of bio-based lubricant derived from different chemically modified fatty acid methyl ester

In this research, polyol ester was used as the source of a biolubricant. The trimethylolpropane (TMP) and pentaerythritol ester (PE) were produced from palm oil methyl ester; they are biodegradable and have high lubricity properties. Two different conditions of lubrication were investigated. Under these test conditions, the wear and friction characteristics of different ester samples were measured and compared. The esters derived from PE and TMP had comparable characteristics to the fully formulated lubricant (FFL) in terms of the coefficient of friction (CoF). In terms of the mixed lubrication condition, the PE ester has the lowest CoF

Assessment of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of palm, jatropha and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends

Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that is produced from renewable resources. Energy studies conducted over the last two decades focused on solutions to problems of rising fossil fuel price, increasing dependency on foreign energy sources, and environmental concerns. Palm oil biodiesel is mostly used in Malaysia. Engine performance and emission tests were conducted with a single-cylinder diesel engine fueled with palm, jatropha and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends (PB10, PB20, JB10, JB20, CIB10, and CIB20) and then compared with diesel fuel at a full-load engine speed range of 1000–2400 rpm. The average brake specific fuel consumption increased from 7.96% to 10.15% while operating on 10%, and 20%, blends of palm, jatropha and C. inophyllum biodiesel. The average brake power for PB10 and PB20 were 9.31% and 12.93% lower respectively compared with that for diesel fuel. JB10 showed higher amount of brake specific fuel consumption than diesel and other biodiesel blends. PB20 produces comparatively lower CO and HC emissions than diesel and biodiesel blends. JB10 showed 31.09% lower smoke opacity than diesel fuel. Diesel produces lower amount of NOX emission compared to biodiesel blends. The higher peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate were found with CIB blends compared to diesel fuel, palm and jatropha biodiesel blends. Results indicated that PB20 has better engine performance, and lower emission compared with diesel and biodiesel blends. Thus, PB20 is suitable for use in diesel engines without the need for any engine modification

Tribological performance of nanoparticles as lubricating oil additives

The prospect of modern tribology has been expanded with the advent of nanomaterial-based lubrication systems, whose development was facilitated by the nanotechnology in recent years. In literature, a variety of nanoparticles have been used as lubricant additives with potentially interesting friction and wear properties. To date, although there has been a great deal of experimental research on nanoparticles as lubricating oil additives, many aspects of their tribological behavior are yet to be fully understood. With growing number of possibilities, the key question is: what types of nanoparticles act as a better lubricating oil additive and why? To answer this question, this paper reviews main types of nanoparticles that have been used as lubricants additives and outlines the mechanisms by which they are currently believed to function. Significant aspects of their tribological behavior such as dispersion stability and morphology are also highlighted