Abstract
Vegetable oils are perceived to be alternatives to mineral oils for lubricant base oils because of certain inherent
technical properties and their biodegradability. Vegetables oils with high oleic contents are considered to be the
best alternative to substitute conventional mineral oil-based lubricating oils and synthetic esters. This paper
mainly reveals about extraction of oil from dry karanja seeds and study of its composition, physico-chemical
properties and lastly its modification into triesters to improve the oxidation and cold flow behavior. Here, we
report the oxirane ring opening of epoxidized karanja oil using behenic acid and p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) as
catalyst followed by esterification reaction with octanol and 2-ethylhexanol to form diesters. The remaining free
hydroxyl group was reacted with oleic and stearic acid to give triesters. The oil before modification has viscosity
index, pour point and flash point of 172, -90C and 2120C and after modification it was 194cp, -360C and 3070C
respectively, which can be easily used as metal working lubricant, hydraulic fluid turbine oil, refrigeration oil and
food processing lubricant. The structures of the products were confirmed by FTIR, 1H- and 13C-NMR.
KEY WORDS: Biolubricants, Biodegradability, Karanja oil, Epoxidation, Oxidation stability.