Performance of higher poly(alkyl lactate acrylate)s as viscosity modifiers in vegetable oils

Recently, bio-derived materials such as vegetable oils are significantly employed in lubricating oil formulations due to its high flash point, high lubricity, low evaporation loss, renewability, biodegradability, and eco-friendliness when compared to mineral oil. We investigated the performance of seven poly(alkyl lactate acrylate)s as viscosity modifiers in two vegetable oils, namely, coconut oil and sunflower oil, which differ in the percentage of polar compounds and degree of unsaturation. Poly(alkyl lactate acrylate)s having alkyl as hexyl to dodecyl group in different concentrations between 1 and 2 wt% were added to coconut and sunflower oil and parameters such as thickening power orQfactor, kinematic viscosity (mu), and viscosity index (VI) were calculated. The mu values at 40 degrees C and 100 degrees C of vegetable oils studied were lower than commercially available SAE20W40 engine oil, but the VI of coconut and sunflower oil was higher by about 22%. Value ofQfactor higher than 1, indicated that these poly(alkyl lactate acrylate)s were VI improvers. VI increased with increase in the polymer concentration in both the vegetable oils. The length of the alkyl side chain of these polymers and the polarity of vegetable oil had predominant effect in determining the values of VI of vegetable oils. By using these polymer additives, VI was improved by 85.5% in coconut oil and by 61.7% in sunflower oil. Varying the concentration and alkyl group of these additives, one can largely modify the viscosity ranges enabling them to be used in different lubricating applications.