Need a Clean, Green Industrial Lubricant? Try Sunflower Oil

July 30th, 2009 by Bryan Nelson

Researchers at the University of Huelva have proven that high-oleic sunflower oil has the efficiency it takes to be an environmentally-friendly base for industrial lubricant.

The study found that the biolubricant shared similar characteristics to traditional lubricants, only sunflower oil has a lower volatility and is entirely biodegradable. Using the sunflower oil as an alternative should also help reduce the cost of keeping industry clean.

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One of the tested products used a mixture of the high-oleic sunflower oil with thylene vinyl-acetate copolymer, but researchers found that the mixture could be easily altered so that the biolubricant could take on multiple uses.

“We can use the obtained oils for different applications: four-stroke engines, gears, ball bearings, etc, depending on the viscosity of lubricants and the proportion of high oleic component,” said Críspulo Gallegos, one of the project’s researchers.

Researchers also said the only thing left to be tested is how much more the oil can be optimized by polymers for the final product to still be considered “ecological”. That ethos doesn’t exactly set the bar very high for developing the most ecological product, but it at least echoes the importance of having industrial standards for such labels. We’ll still give researchers credit for the effort.

Source: TheBioEnergySite

Image Credit: Ctd 2005 on Flickr under a CC License

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Tags: biotechnology, industrial lubricants, industry, Manufacturing, sunflower oil, sunflowers

About the Author

Bryan Nelson has been making up for lost time since finishing his graduate degree in Philosophy by traveling and working to change the world. He has worked with groups like The Sierra Club, Environment America & U.S. PIRG, Environment Oregon & OSPIRG, and Progressive Future on local and national political campaigns. His environmental journalism can be found throughout the web, which also includes regular contributions to MNN.com. Between adventure and activism, he currently can be found doing freelance writing from his home in Hawaii.