Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and

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Tribological behavior of modified jojoba oil with

graphene nanoparticle as additive in SAE20W40 oil
using pin on disc tribometer

K Thirumalai Kannan & S RameshBabu

To cite this article: K Thirumalai Kannan & S RameshBabu (2017) Tribological behavior of
modified jojoba oil with graphene nanoparticle as additive in SAE20W40 oil using pin on disc
tribometer, Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 39:17,
1842-1848, DOI: 10.1080/15567036.2017.1376006

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2017.1376006

IMPACT FACTOR : 0.527 & 5- year impact factor : 0.648

Published online: 25 Oct 2017.

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 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
2017, VOL. 39, NO. 17, 1842–1848
https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2017.1376006

Tribological behavior of modified jojoba oil with graphene

nanoparticle as additive in SAE20W40 oil using pin on disc
tribometer
a
K Thirumalai Kannan and S RameshBabub
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai, India; bDepartment of
Mechanical Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai, India
Downloaded by [Mr Thirumalai kannan kandaswamy] at 02:38 29 December 2017

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Simmondsia chinensis or jojoba oil has been modified via esterification, Received 2 August 2017
hydroxylation, and transesterification process. The modified jojoba oil has Revised xxxx
been blended with SAE20W40 oil in the ratio of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 by vol Accepted 1 September 2017
%. Graphene nanoparticles were added to the blended oil in 0.05, 0.075,
KEYWORDS
and 0.1wt%. Wear and friction characteristics were evaluated for sliding Bio lubricant; friction and
speed ranging from 1 m/s to 5 m/s under the load of 50 N, 100 N, and 150 wear; graphene; modified
N with pin-on-disc tribometer, and surface analysis technique was used to jojoba oil; SAE20W40; sliding
study surface morphology of pin. Tribological results firmed that 20% of velocity
modified jojoba oil with 0.075wt% of graphene can be probable feed stock
for SAE20E40 oil.

Introduction
Lubrication is improving the smoothness of contact surface during movement by diminishing the
friction; the heat generation and the wear is reduced (Syed 2009). Lubricant has effective contribu-
tion toward environment hence the researchers have formulated biodegradable oils as the alternative
for existing hydrocarbon-based oils (Igartua et al. 2009; Singh, Singla, and Singh 2017).One of the
increasingly introduced industrial crops is jojoba, and it is a desert shrub coming from USA and
many other countries. Nowadays, Egyptian’s genuine product is jojoba oil (Van Boven et al. 2000).
The jojoba seed oil can be a substitute with the petroleum-derived products (Nehal S. Ahmed,
Nassar, and Nasser 2015). The chemical structure of jojoba oil is a long straight chain ester, whereas
the other vegetable oils are triglycerides (Hararah and Zayed, 2016). No glycerides are available in
jojoba oil whereas conventional oils consist of glyceride oils in that fatty acids are connected. Jojoba
oils composed of fatty acids, which are directly connected to fatty alcohols, no other plant produces
liquids of this type. The main applications of jojoba oil and its derivatives are pharmaceuticals,
cosmetics, and lubricants (Shah et al. 2010). Including the nanomaterials as additives with the base
lubricant oil is one of the growing research areas, because nanomaterials are different from tradi-
tional bulk materials due to their extremely small size and high specific surface area (Windarta et al.
2011). From the time when nanoparticles were synthesized, it was used as an additive to enhance the
tribological properties. Graphene nanoparticle is one such additive which has a greater potential to
act as an additive in lubricant. (Rasheed et al. 2016; Eswaraiah et al. 2011). Graphene is more
effective in reducing wear and friction as nano additive in the oil solvents (Ali and Xianjun 2015).
This research is about the tribological behavior of modified jojoba oil and used as a probable feed
stock for SAE20W40 oil in presence of graphene nanoparticle as additive. Wear and friction
behavior of the formulated oil was performed using pin-on-disc tribometer.

CONTACT K Thirumalai Kannan thirumalyai2007@gmail.com

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/ueso.
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 1843

Materials and methods

Modification of jojoba oil
The base oil used for this experimental study was high-grade jojoba oil, purchased from Cyrus Enterprises,
Tamilnadu, India. Jojoba oil as procuring reagent is epoxidated in a 500 ml four-necked round-bottomed
batch reactor. The reflux condenser with the funnel is fitted on the two necks of the batch reactor for pouring
up the raw materials into the reactor. Methanol of 31.4 ml is added to the 300 ml of jojoba oil. This mixture is
stirred using as magnetic stirrer with hot plate, which is attached to the bottom of the batch reactor.
Concentrated sulphuric acid of 0.358 ml is added as a catalyst to the mixture contents. The mixture is
maintained at a temperature of 0–100°C in an ice bath at the bottom of the reactor. The hydrogen peroxide
of 30wt% is added with 265.72 ml to the reaction mixture. This reaction is exothermic, as conducted with the
feeding strategy of 17.714 ml/min at a total time of 15 min to avoid the thermal disturbances of the system.
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The total mixture is stirred at 300 rpm till the temperature raise to 55°C by keeping the four-necked round-
bottomed flask in a hot water bath. Then the resulting mixture is cooled and decanted to separate the
epoxidated oil. Then it undergoes a washing process to remove residual impurities. The hydroxylation
process occurs with the addition of hydroxyl groups such as water and alcohol to the unsaturated bonds of
the fatty acids of jojoba oil. Two hundred milliliters of methoxide and seven hundred milliliters of
hydroxylated jojoba oil were adulterated and heated with the hot plate at 60°C for 60 mi. After that, the
adulterated solution was allowed to settle down for 12 h. The esterified clear jojoba oil is formed at the top
phase and glycerol at the bottom. The glycerol extract is separated using a separator funnel. Mixed solution
of distilled water and KOH is added to maintain the alcohol and glycerol content in esterified oil. KOH is
separated from the esterified oil using vacuum filtration process. Then the final yield of clear and bright-
esterified jojoba oil is used for the final blends of the partial replacement with mineral oil. The procedure for
modification of jojoba oil was adapted from the research (Yashvir Singh, Singla, and Bhurat 2016). The
content of the free fatty acid is lesser for the esterified jojoba oil comparatively than the raw jojoba oil which
enhances the concentration property of the jojoba oil with the mineral oil. The saponification value of the
esterified jojoba oil is lesser than the raw jojoba oils where it determines the weight of the fat and it means the
soap property of the oil. The pour point of esterified jojoba oil is increased from 18 to 21 may be a problem
for cooling application. The viscosity index is decreased from 24 cst to 21 cst but if esterified oil is added as
feed stock to the SAE20W40 the viscosity index is improved as because of the more affinity of the esterified
oil toward the oil. The physiochemical properties of the jojoba oil and modified jojoba oils is tested and
verified with the earlier research (Omayma El Bhatia et al. 1990; Kinawy 2004) and tabulated in Table1.

Experimental setup
Pin-on-disc setup is used to investigate the wear and friction analysis. Aluminum alloy (Aluminium: 86%,
Silicon: 12% % & other: 2%) was used as the pin and the disc specimen was EN31 steel having a maximum
diameter of 165 mm. The pin and disc specifications were: length of pin = 30 mm; pin diameter = 08 mm;
disc diameter = 180mm; thickness of the disc = 08 mm; the limit of disc track diameter = 180 mm.

Table 1. Properties of raw Jojoba oil and modified jojoba oil.

Raw Modified
Physio Chemical Properties (ASTM standards) Jojoba oil Jojoba oil
Free fatty acid (%) ASTM D5555-95 3.0–4.5 2.0–2.5
Saponification value (mg KOH/g) ASTM D5558-95 115.5 84.57
Percent of saturation (%) - 92–94 97.4
Flash point (°C) ASTM D92 287 251
Melting point (°C) ASTM D87-09 18 14
Cloud point (°C) ASTM D2500-16a 24 28
Pour point (°C) ASTM D97 18 21
Viscosity at 40 (cst) ASTM D2270-10 26.31 21.19
Viscosity index ASTM D2270-10 131.5 -
 1844 K. THIRUMALAI KANNAN AND S. RAMESHBABU

Table 2. Description of various formulated oil blends.

Category Details of various formulated oil blends
JO 100vol% of SAE20W40 oil.
JO10 90 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 10vol% of Modified Jojoba oil
JO20 80 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 20vol% of Modified Jojoba oil
JO30 70 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 30vol% of Modified Jojoba oil
JO40 60 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 40vol% of Modified Jojoba oil
JO +0.05%GP 100vol% of SAE20W40 oil + Graphene 0.05 wt %
JO+0.075%GP 100vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ Graphene 0.075 wt %
JO+0.1%GP 100vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ Graphene 0.1wt %
JO10 + 0.05%GP 90 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 10vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.05 wt %
JO10 + 0.075%GP 90 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 10vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.075 wt %
JO10 + 0.1%GP 90 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 10vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.1 wt %
JO20 + 0.05%GP 80 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 20vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.05 wt %
JO20 + 0.075%GP 80 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 20vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.075 wt %
JO20 + 0.1%GP 80 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 20vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.1 wt %
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JO30 + 0.05%GP 70 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 30vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.05 wt %
JO30 + 0.075%GP 70 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 30vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.075 wt %
JO30 + 0.1%GP 70 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 30vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.1 wt %
JO40 + 0.05%GP 60 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 40vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.05 wt %
JO40 + 0.075%GP 60 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 40vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.075 wt %
JO40 + 0.1%GP 60 vol% of SAE20W40 oil+ 40vol% of Modified Jojoba oil +Graphene 0.1 wt %

Preparation of blends
The modified jojoba oil is taken in the ratio of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 vol% and blended with
SAE20W40 oil. Graphene nanoparticle is mixed with the blended oil in the concentration of 0.05,
0.075, and 0.1wt %(Jinshan et al, 2011). The standardized mixing was done using a magnetic stirrer
for the duration of 120 min. The details are tabulated in Table2.

Wear and friction evaluation

Initially pin sample and disc is thoroughly washed with acetone and they weighed in a digital
balance. The accuracy of the digital balance is  0:0001mg. In all the experiments, the sliding
speed is adjusted from 1 m/s to 5 m/s and repeats the experiment for different loads of 50 N,
100 N, and 150 N. The weight loss is calculated by obtaining the difference between the initial
weight of the pin and the final weight of the pin. The pin-on-disk tribometer with the standard
of ASTM G99 was used to conduct the lubricant sliding test. The diameter of the pin is 8 mm
and the length is 30 mm. The wear and friction test is applied over various loads 50 N, 100 N,
and 150 N based on the sliding velocity from 1 m/s to 5 m/s. The friction and wear were
recorded and the graphs were plotted.

Surface texture analysis

Mechanical systems would undergo various types of wear such as abrasive, adhesive, fatigue, and
corrosive. The scanning electron microscope was used to examine the images of the tested pin
specimen.

Result and discussion

Wear analysis by weight loss
Many researches predicted several ways to calculate wear. One of the easiest methods is to record the
value of the specimen before and after the test. In this section, the weight loss is calculated by
obtaining the difference between the initial weight of the pin and the final weight of the pin. The
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 1845

1m/s Weight Loss Vs Oil Blends

2m/s
3m/s
4m/s

weight loss (mg)

0.026
5m/s

0.021

0.016
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Oil Blends

Figure 1. Weight Loss for Various Oil Blends, Sliding Speed at Load 100N.

weight loss of pin is increased for the increasing load from 50 N, 100 N, and 150 N. Figure 1 shows
the weight loss of 100 N load. It is also noted that the weight loss is increased gradually for different
jojoba oil blends with increased sliding speeds. It is interesting that JO20 + 0.075wt% graphene has
minimal weight loss compare to all other blends because modified jojoba oil is more affinity toward
the oil and graphene nanoparticle would fill the scar and provides smooth for the contact surfaces. It
is also observed that when the load and sliding speed increases the weight loss is also gradually
increasing. The oil blends JO0, JO10, and JO40 with the graphene nanoparticle additive have more
weight loss than JO20 and JO30.

Friction analysis
Figure 2 gives the coefficient of friction for Various Oil Blends at Various Load at sliding
speed 5 m/s. The coefficient of friction is determined and analyzed according to the sliding
speed from 1 m/s to 5 m/s. The load and the sliding speed are considered as the control factor
of the entire experiment. Also the minimum coefficient of friction is obtained at JO20 of
jojoba oil blends that is, at sliding velocity of 5 m/s. In accordance to the rank, Jojoba oil
blends (20%) have strong influence for this response and after that load influences friction
coefficient. It is noted that friction coefficient is influenced by the various factors such as:
sliding speed, size of the nanoparticles, and the load applied. The friction coefficient is
decreased slowly and continuously according to the increase in concentration and time. It
shows that the boundary lubricant behavior is increased significantly according to the presence
of nanoparticles and its size in the oil.

Surface texture analysis

The SEM images of the contact surfaces are shown in Figure 3. Basically jojoba oil has the
saponification behavior where it can provide rust protection and increased oiliness behavior.
Since, the pour points of the jojoba oil is low, it ensures that it has high lubricant properties.
Similarly graphene additive has oxidation property which can increase the goodness of jojoba oil
more. The graphene nanoparticle additives can strong the adsorbed hydrophobic and metal surface.
Because of the jojoba oil comprises of high molecular weight acids, jojoba itself is a monoester
having a high polarity and it can create a strong adsorbed metal surface (Omayma El Kinawy 2004).
 1846 K. THIRUMALAI KANNAN AND S. RAMESHBABU

Without Additive @ 5m/s 0.05% Additive @ 5m/s

0.08 0.08
Coefficient of friction

Coefficient of friction
0.07 0.07

0.06 0.06
50N 50N
0.05 100N 0.05 100N
150N 150N
0.04 0.04
JO 0 JO 10 JO 20 JO 30 JO 40 JO 0 JO 10 JO 20 JO 30 JO 40
Oil Blends Oil Blends
(a) (b)
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0.075% Additive @ 5m/s 0.1% Additive @ 5m/s

0.08 0.08

Coefficient of friction)
Coefficient of friction

0.07 0.07

0.06 0.06
50N
50N
0.05 100N 0.05
100N
150N
150N
0.04 0.04
JO 0 JO 10 JO 20 JO 30 JO 40 JO 0 JO 10 JO 20 JO 30 JO 40
Oil Blends Oil Blends
(c) (d)

Figure 2. Coefficient of Friction for Various Oil Blends, Various Load at 5m/s.

One of the important parameters which influences the wear resistance and friction of the lubricant is
surface roughness. The roughness of all the surfaces is not same. Also the texture of the images
shows the randomness where it can store the high lubricant among the asperities which finally
reduce the fiction coefficient as very low (Koshy et al. 2015).

Conclusion
This paper focused on investigating the tribological behavior of the modified jojoba oil. The
modification of jojoba is performed by epoxidation, hydro-oxylation, and trans-esterification.
Modified jojoba oil is used as a base stock for SAE20W40 mineral oil with addition of
graphene nanoparticle in various proportions as mentioned in Table 1. The experiment is
carried out on pin-on-disc tribometer to investigate wear and friction analysis. Surface mor-
phology is explained through Scanning electron microscopic images. Tribological results has
been concluded that:

● Modification of jojoba oil can be suggested as probable feedstock for SAE20W40oil.

● Modified jojoba oil has high affinity on oil.
● The JO20 + 0.075% graphene additive blend has low coefficient value when compared with all
other blends. Images of wear is also comparatively less.
● Coefficient of friction increases with load and sliding speed.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 1847

(a) (b)
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(c) (d)

(e)

Figure 3. SEM images of worn surfaces of lubricant blends: (a) JO +0.075%GP (b) JO10 + 0.075%GP (c) JO20 + 0.075%GP (d)
JO30 + 0.075%GP (e) JO40 + 0.075%GP.

Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

ORCID
K Thirumalai Kannan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9580-5543

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