Synthesis of Bio-lubricants from Waste Cooking Oil: A Review

Abstract: The Market of Lubricants is largely dominated by Mineral Oils based feedstock which causes environmental degradation. This provides a necessity to search for alternatives of Biodegradable nature. Waste Cooking Oil with certain chemical modifications can be utilised for Lubricating purposes. In this regard, the primary contribution of this work lies in the summarisation of the manufacturing process of bio based Lubricants from Waste cooking oil. The steps include pre-treatment of used oil to remove certain undesirable compounds formed during frying, followed by chemical modification by subjecting to Transesterification, Oligomerization, or Epoxidation reactions to enhance the Thermo-Oxidative properties. This study shall help to identify the need of further research in the area for implementation of the strategy at commercial level.

Keywords: Waste cooking oil, Vegetable Oil, Bio-Lubricants, Eco-friendly, Chemical Modifications