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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Bio-oils Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #333593
Research Project: Industrial Monomers and Polymers from Plant Oils

Location: Bio-oils Research

Title: Effect of polysoap on the physical and tribological properties of soybean oil-based grease

Author
item Liu, Zengshe - Kevin
item Biresaw, Girma
item Biswas, Atanu
item Cheng, Huai

Submitted to: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/28/2018
Publication Date: 6/5/2018
Citation: Liu, Z., Biresaw, G., Biswas, A., Cheng, H.N. 2018. Effect of polysoap on the physical and tribological properties of soybean oil-based grease. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 95(5):629-634. https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12069.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12069

Interpretive Summary: In this research, we developed soybean oil based grease combined with polysoap. The polysoap is also prepared from modified soybean oil. This formulated grease showed improvements in thermo-oxidation stability and tribological properties. It will be a promising biobased grease. This biobased grease has a variety of potential applications, such as for lubrication in heavy duty machines and railroads. This total biobased grease will have a direct impact on environmental protection and produce high value products from agricultural resources and benefit farmers.

Technical Abstract: Soybean oil (SBO)-based grease, containing polysoaps synthesized from polymeric epoxidized soybean oil (PESO), were investigated. Greases were prepared using a mixture of lithium soap and triethanolammonium polysoap. Grease properties investigated were hardness, using the cone penetration procedure (ASTM D217); oxidation stability, using the pressurized differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC) method (ASTM D-5483); and friction and wear, using a four-ball tribometer (ASTM D-2266). Penetration data showed that grease formulated in the presence of polysoap was harder than that without polysoap, and this was attributed to the cross-linking in the polysoap structure, which was expected to provide higher resistance to deformation. The PDSC results indicated that the onset temperature of grease formulated with 3.8 and 7.3 wt% polysoap increased by 8 and 12°C, respectively, compared to grease without polysoap. The coefficient of friction of grease formulated with polysoap was much lower (0.015) than grease without polysoap (0.034).