Biolubricant

This chapter introduces the current situation of the global lubricant market and the potential application of bio-lubricants in future. The sources, properties and applications of vegetable oil and waste edible oil as the lubricant base oil were summarized. In addition, the prospect of bio-refining base oil from biomass was put forward. The upgrading process of vegetable oil, such as hydrogenation, epoxidation, esterification, transesterification and isomerization, were reviewed. In this chapter, some research achievements on the development of environmental-friendly additives through organic conversion of biological materials are reviewed. Finally, the current strategic goals of bio-lubricant are prospected: (1) to reduce pollution caused by lubricating industry, (2) to decrease the safety risk of using or producing dangerous lubricating oil, (3) to improve the utilization rate of vegetable oil raw materials through more effective conversion technologies and reaction routes, and (4) to give priority to using abundant carbon neutral biomass as raw materials.