The prospects of biolubricants as alternatives in automotive applications

Lubricants perform as anti-friction media. They facilitate smooth operations, maintain reliable machine functions, and reduce the risks of frequent failures. At present, the increasing prices of crude oil, the depletion of crude oil reserves in the world, and global concern in protecting the environment from pollution have renewed interest in developing and using environment-friendly lubricants derived from alternative sources. A biolubricant is renewable lubricants that is biodegradable, non-toxic, and emits net zero greenhouse gas. This study presents the potential of a biolubricant based on vegetable oil as an alternative lubricant according to studies published in highly rated journals in scientific indices. In the first part of this paper, the source, properties, as well as advantages and disadvantages of the biolubricant are discussed. The second part describes the potential of vegetable oil-based biolubricants as alternative lubricants for automobile applications. The final part describes the world biolubricant market and its future prospects. Biolubricants are potential alternative lubricants because of their low toxicity, good lubricating properties, high viscosity index, high ignition temperature, increased equipment service life, high load-carrying abilities, good anti-wear characteristic, excellent coefficient of friction, natural multigrade properties, low evaporation rates, and low emissions into the atmosphere. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.