The Development of a Fully Renewable Lubricant: The Effect of Ethyl Cellulose on the Properties of a Polyhydroxyalkanoate (P34HB)-Based Grease

Shanshan Yang, Bingbing Lai, Zongzhu Liu () and Wenjing Lou ()
Additional contact information
Shanshan Yang: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Bingbing Lai: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Zongzhu Liu: College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China
Wenjing Lou: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: In the context of the ongoing evolution of the global economy and increasing environmental awareness, green sustainable development has emerged as a crucial pathway for future advancements in the lubrication industry. In this study, we prepared bio-based greases by employing a thickener system consisting of polyhydroxyalkanoate (P34HB) and ethyl cellulose, with castor oil serving as a base oil. The results indicate that ethyl cellulose significantly and effectively enhances the grease system’s mechanical and colloidal stability. Notably, the addition of 5 wt% ethyl cellulose leads to superior mechanical and colloidal stability, while increasing concentrations gradually result in rheological properties similar to those of oleogels. Furthermore, the wear volume of grease containing 5 wt% ethyl cellulose was reduced by 39.20% compared to that of a reference P34HB grease, demonstrating its exceptional wear resistance. The present study provides a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for the future development of biodegradable greases as substitutes for non-degradable materials, thereby expanding the range of environmentally friendly greases formulated with biomass-based thickeners.

Keywords: novel thickening agent; poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P34HB); ethyl cellulose; renewable lubricant (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/4149/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/4149/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:10:p:4149-:d:1395293

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().