ABSTRACT
Industrial globalization leads to increase in the demand for lubricants day by day. Global issues about crude oil are the finite source, continuous decline, rising prices and environmental-related concern. In this context, efforts are on globally to minimize the dependence on crude oil products, which inhibits the adverse effect on the environment. Therefore, a suitable substitute is required for conventional lubricants, which have at least equal or better lubrication performance and are eco-friendly too. The excellent lubrication properties of the vegetable oil offer a favourable solution to conventional lubricants, which has high renewability and biodegradability. However, bio-lubricants have not replaced conventional lubricants because of their certain limiting properties (viz. oxidation stability and pour point), which mitigates their applications at unusual conditions. The structural deficiencies of vegetable oils can be improved via various chemical treatment and making them a suitable contestant for lubrication applications. The optimized doses of additives are blended to enhance physicochemical and tribological properties. The numerous tribological investigations carried out in the last two decades have shown the convincing ability of vegetable oil, which can be used as a base stock. Vegetable oils are widely used as a base stock in metal-cutting fluids, transmission fluids, hydraulic fluids and automotive applications. This chapter presents an overview of the basic chemistry and properties of the vegetable oils. Further, the benefits over traditional lubricants and evaluation of lubrication performance are also discussed.
