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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #89410
Title: PREDICTION OF VISCOSITIES OF HYDROPHOBIC CARRIERS PRODUCED BY BLENDING BIODEGRADABLE ESTER BASED FLUIDS

Author
item ASADAUSKAS, SVAJUS - PENN STATE, UNIV PK, PA
item Erhan, Sevim

Submitted to: Fine Particle Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/3/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Often low biodegradability of mineral oil based vehicles or carriers presents a problem for a variety of applications. Biodegradable replacements for mineral oil can be selected from poly alpha olefins, poly alkylene glycols and synthetic or natural esters. Vegetable oils are one of the most biodegradable alternatives for such applications. Unlike products of petroleum origins, physical properties of vegetable oils are quite uniform. Their viscosities usually fall into International Standards Organization (ISO) Viscosity Grade (VG) 32. Interesterification products of vegetable oils can be as thin as ISO VG 5, whereas vegetable oil oligomers may reach ISO VG 1000 and higher. Most economically feasible components can be blended to produce appropriate viscosities. Cubic equation of MacAllister is accurate in predicting blend viscosity from viscosities of pure components. However, it requires molecular weights and experimentally determined binary parameters. Kinematic viscosities of blends incorporating oligomerized and interesterified vegetable oils were measured using Cannon Fenske viscometers. Their viscosities correlated nearly linearly to the blend composition on semilog scale. Incorporation of materials with more extensive branching or polar functionalities produced more significant deviations. In such cases application of MacAllister method is encouraged.