Synthesis of Green Lubricant from Luffa (Luffa cylindrical) Seed Oil for Automotive Gear Application.

Abstract

This paper presents the synthesis and characterization of biolubricant from luffa seed oil seed. The oil was extracted from luffa seed using solvent extraction and the extracted oil was characterized to determine some its properties. The oil was converted to biodiesel via acid - alkaline transesterification. Biolubricant was then produced further from transesterification of biodiesel with ethylene glycol at a temperature of 105 ◦C, ethylene glycol to biodiesel of 3.9:1, reaction time of 70mins and catalyst concentration of 1wt%. The resulting biolubricant was characterized for its lubricating characteristics. The result of characterization of the biolubricant compares favourably with the ISO VG standard thereby establishing the potential of the biolubricant as automotive light gear oil.