Application of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for Optimizing the Food Grade Bio Lubricant

Abstract

With growing global concerns about the production of environmentally friendly lubricants, efforts to develop vegetable oil-based alternatives to mineral oil-based lubricants are gaining growth. However, the properties of vegetable oil-based lubricants such as poor low-temperature behaviour, low oxidative stability and poor thermal stability are concerning for industrial gear lubricant applications. Although there has been significant research of using vegetable oil-based as an alternative lubricant, the scientific research for industrial gear oil application have not been studied adequately. As a result, the purpose of this study is to investigate the friction coefficient and wear rate of the blended oil using a pin-on-disc test experiment and then compare it to food grade oil, with the hope that the findings will assist the food industry in improving their machinery. Response Surface Methodology (RSM), a Box- Behnken Design approach, has been employed to optimize the lubricant characterization based on the results. The effects of three independent variables—load, speed, and additive concentration—on the coefficient of friction and wear rate have been investigated in this study. The number of tests has been reduced to 15 using this RSM methodology. At the speed of 600 RPM, 30 N load and 30% concentration concluded the lowest predicted wear rate was -38.1986 m3 /m. These results showed that blending palm oil with gear oil can increase the development of biodegradable and environment-friendly lubricants without concerns about downgrading the tribological performance.