Dear John Peters, Due to the rise in petroleum prices as well as increasing environmental concerns, there is a need to develop biochemicals and bioproducts that offer realistic alternatives to their traditional counterpartsThe use of vegetable oils (soybean etc)and animal fats for lubrication purposes has been practiced for many years.Biobased lubricants are an attractive alternative to conventional petrobased lubricants due to a numberof their physical properties including: renewablility, biodegradability, high lubricity and high flash points. Biobased lubricants have not replaced petrobased lubricants due to their higher cost, oxidative and thermal instability and limited temperature applications.With the discovery of petroleum and the availability of inexpensive oils.Vegetable oils can and have been used as lubricants in their natural forms. Advantages of Vegetable Oils • Naturally Better Lubricant • Better Viscosity / Pressure Performance • Superior Thin Film Strength • Excellent Viscosity Index • Lower Volatility High Flash / Fire Points   Disadvantages of Vegetable Oils • If Untreated, Lack Oxidative Stability • If Untreated, Have High Pour Points • Compatibility needs to be checked • Generally More Expensive than Petroleum??

Published February 12, 2017 16:08 by Prem Baboo, Researcher at www.researchGate.net