Vegetable oil derivatives: environment‐friendly lubricants and fuels

A critical appraisal is made of the applications of vegetable oils, the fatty esters complex and synthetic esters as rapidly biodegradable and non‐toxic lubricants and fuels in the developed countries of America, Europe and Asia. The criteria employed for assessing the toxicity and biodegradability of the various fluids and limits set by various state and regional organizations are reviewed. The properties of vegetable oils, fatty esters, chemically modified esters and synthetic esters relevant for performance as lubricants in various applications such as hydraulic oils, refrigeration oils, chainsaw lubricants, metalworking fluids, engine oils, two‐stroke oils, mould release lubricants, greases, gear and transmission oils vis‐à‐vis conventional mineral oils and greases for corresponding applications are compared. The advantages, such as high lubricity, viscosity–temperature relationship, low lubricant consumption, energy efficiency combined with public health, safety and environmental contamination, more than offset the disadvantages of initial costs in most of these applications. It has been suggested that modified and stabilized oils of wasteland and forest origin and other non‐edible oils and their chemically modified derivatives can be produced at relatively cheaper cost than similar oils marketed in the developed world and can be introduced in India with immense environmental and performance benefits, particularly in applications involving high environmental contamination safety and public health. When blended with highly refined diesel fuels, methyl esters can work as highly efficient environment‐friendly fuels particularly for applications in passenger transport, light commercial vehicles and generators. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.