Synthesis of 2-Hydroxyethyl Esters from Castor Oil as Lubrication Bio-Additive Candidates for Low-Sulfur Fossil Diesel

Arizal Firmansyah (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Kampus ITS Keputih, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia Department of Chemistry Education, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Islam Negeri Walison)
Yulfi Zetra (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Kampus ITS Keputih, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia)
Rafwan Year Perry Burhan (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Kampus ITS Keputih, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia Polytechnic of Energy and Mineral Akamigas, Jl. Gajah Mada No. 38, Cepu 58315, Indonesia)
Didik Prasetyoko (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Kampus ITS Keputih, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia)
Novesar Jamarun (Department of Chemistry, University of Andalas, Limau Manis, Padang 25163, West Sumatera, Indonesia)

Indonesian Journal of Chemistry
Vol 22, No 3 (2022)

The present work aims to study the synthesis of 2-hydroxyethyl esters from castor oil and its lubrication properties, promising as a lubrication bio-additive in low sulfur diesel fuel. This compound has been successfully synthesized from castor oil and ethylene glycol. The oil to ethylene glycol molar ratio was adjusted to 1:10, and the catalyst loading was used at 9% mole oil. Then, the mixture was refluxed for 5 h. The product components were characterized using GC-MS. The standard ASTM method was used to study the kinematic viscosity and lubrication. The product was dominated by 2-hydroxyethyl esters (94.16%), di-ester (1.12%), and cyclic ester (1.92%). The analysis of friction coefficient and wear scar diameter (WSD) using High-Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR) shows the coefficient of friction and WSD of the product better than reference diesel fuel. From the results of this study, the 2-hydroxyethyl ester of castor oil, especially 2-hydroxyethyl ricinoleate, is the main responsible for the lubricating properties. Thus, 2-hydroxyethyl esters of castor oil can be proposed as an alternative bio-additive to improve the lubrication of low-sulfur fossil diesel fuels.