Development of Dehydrated Kusum Oil as a Potential Bio-lubricant

Depletion of petroleum crude oil and its environmental impacts challenge future generations. Vegetable oils provide a sustainable alternative with benefits like anti-wear properties, biodegradability, and renewability. Kusum oil's ability to lower carbon emissions significantly and promote sustainable industrial practices highlights its potential as a viable green alternative. This research paper presents a comprehensive and comparative analysis of a sustainable, environmentally friendly bio-lubricant and nonedible vegetable oil like Kusum oil. Bio-lubricant is produced by transesterification followed by epoxidation, which is known as epoxidized kusum oil lubricant or dehydrated kusum oil (DKO). The process of epoxidation significantly enhances the properties of Kusum oil, making it a promising alternative to conventional lubricants. It is compared with a widely used conventional mineral oil lubricant like SAE10W40. DKO exhibits comparable density, viscosity index, pour point, and flash point with SAE10W40 and found satisfactory. Subsequently, FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and GC (Gas Chromatography) are also used to characterize the chemical composition of DKO, and the results are comparable with SAE10W40. By introducing epoxy groups into the unsaturated fatty acids of Kusum oil, epoxidation increases the oil's oxidative stability, making it more resistant to degradation at high temperatures, which is verified with the Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). It reveals that the bio-lubricant is thermally stable up to 250°C, with significant decomposition occurring between 250°C and 450°C. This comparison underscores the importance of epoxied kusum oil bio-lubricant, and it provides a new direction for similar research and development in lubricants, aiming to balance performance with environmental responsibility.