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ABSTRACT
During the last few years, special attention has been paid by the lubricant industry towards vegetable oil-based lubricants due to their biodegradability, renewability and excellent tribological properties. But to maintain the biodegradability of the final lubricants, the additive in the lubricants must also be biodegradable. Hence, in our present work, multifunctional lubricating oil additive based on castor oil has been investigated as a less toxic, feasible alternative to traditional petroleum based additives. Homopolymer of castor oil and its copolymer with α-pinene were synthesized by a thermal method using azobisisobutyronitrile as a radical initiator. Characterization of the prepared polymers was performed by spectral analysis and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Additive performances of each of the prepared polymers as viscosity index improvers/viscosity modifiers and pour point depressants were carefully evaluated. Photo micrographic image was used to study the effectiveness of the additives as pour point depressants. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted to investigate the thermal response of the additives at high temperature. Finally, biodegradability of all the polymers was tested against fungal pathogen by the disc diffusion method and soil burial test. The study illuminated excellent additive performances of the polymers and thus their potential for acting as entirely naturally derived green bio-additives for lube oil.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to UGC, New Delhi, for financial support. Thanks are also due to the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., (India) for providing the base oils.