Comparative Study of the Lubricity of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, Diesel, and Their Blends Using Four-Ball Testing: Focus on Scuffing Load

Hubert Kuszewski (), Artur Jaworski and Dariusz Szpica
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Hubert Kuszewski: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstancow Warszawy Ave. 12, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Artur Jaworski: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstancow Warszawy Ave. 12, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Dariusz Szpica: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology, 45C Wiejska Str., 15-351 Bialystok, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: The search for low-emission fuels has increased interest in hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a renewable diesel substitute. This study examines the lubricity of HVO, diesel, and their blends using a four-ball tester, with scuffing load as the main evaluation criterion. Five fuel samples were tested: diesel, neat HVO, and blends containing 25%, 50%, and 75% HVO by volume. The results show that blending HVO with diesel improves lubricity at moderate concentrations, with the 25% HVO blend exhibiting the highest scuffing load. In contrast, neat HVO demonstrated significantly reduced lubricity—its scuffing load was 24% lower than diesel’s—confirming the negative impact of the absence of polar and aromatic compounds. The scuffing load did not decrease linearly with increasing HVO content, suggesting synergistic effects in certain blends. Viscosity increased with HVO content, but it did not directly correlate with improved lubricity. These findings indicate that chemical composition plays a dominant role over viscosity in determining lubricating performance. The study provides new insights into the tribological behavior of HVO–diesel blends and demonstrates that scuffing load testing offers a practical method for preliminary lubricity assessment of renewable fuels.

Keywords: hydrotreated vegetable oil; diesel engine; four-ball tester; scuffing load; lubricity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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