Epoxidação etílica do óleo de pinhão-manso para obtençao de lubrificante biodegradável.

Abstract

The intensive use of fossil fuel reserves and the environmental problems caused by this use have triggered a search for energy alternatives that are less aggressive to the environment. An excellent alternative is the constant research in the development of energy sources and the production of goods that do not depend on fossil raw materials, being the obtainment of biodegradable lubricants from renewable raw materials an example of these studies. A biolubricant is a biodegradable lubricant that has the proven ability to be broken down in a short time by natural biological processes into carbonaceous earth, water or carbon dioxide. Jatropha curcas is a plant with high oil content, resistant and perennial, becoming promising for the production of biocompounds. This work consisted of the synthesis and characterization of a biodegradable lubricant from Jatropha oil through the ethyl transesterification of the oil, followed by the ethyl epoxidation of the esters. The materials involved in the process were characterized through their chemical and physical-chemical properties. Alkaline transesterification, which transformed the oil into biodiesel, provided a yield of 71.7%. The ethyl epoxidation, a reaction that transformed biodiesel into a biolubricant, provided a yield of 93.4%. Most of the properties analyzed proved to be adequate to the parameters established by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels. The production of biodegradable lubricants could significantly help to reduce the environmental impact of the use of fossil materials for the production of lubricants, as well as increase environmental awareness in the development of new technologies.