Bench Test of a Hydraulic Biofluid Based on Refined Pomace Oil

This paper aims at investigating the possibility of replacing conventional hydraulic fluids with refined olive pomace oil added with a common food grade antioxidant, as hydraulic fluid for agricultural machinery. The fluid efficiency test is carried out using an experimental test rig based on a hydraulic system designed to apply severe work cycles (pressure values up to 40 MPa; temperatures up to 100 degrees C) to small oil volumes with the aim of strongly accelerating the ageing of the tested fluid. The fluid, added with 2 g kg(-1) of antioxidant, apparently does not undergo any changes in chemical-physical properties and maintains stable the technical performance of the test equipment during 530 h work cycle. This research has four different goals: i) to contribute to the circular economy, by using olive oil byproducts in agricultural environment; ii) to contribute to the reduction of environmental contamination by substituting petroleum products with natural biodegradable ones; iii) to contribute to avoid the presence of mineral products (such as saturated hydrocarbons, which could accumulate in human organs, and aromatic hydrocarbons, which are potentially genotoxic), as a residue in food products and in vegetable oils. iv) to identify alternative market possibilities for such a by-product.