Study on Jatropha oil as a promising renewable lube base oil for bio-lubricant

Jatropha oil is a promising raw material for biodegradable lubricant since it is a non-edible vegetable oil produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas, a plant that can grow in marginal lands, and does not compete for the food production with human or for land with food. But there are few relative studies and reports so far. In this paper, samples of Jatropha curcas seeds are tested to investigate their biological characters and chemical components. The primary fatty acid composition and the main lubricating properties are determined by GC-MS and related Chinese Standards. Moreover, main lubricating characteristics of the mixture of different proportional Jatropha curcas oil and mineral oil are studied. Viscosity, acid number and oxidation stability of the mixed oil are found to be comparable with the mineral oil and the pour point reduced significantly.