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PRODUCTION AND ASSESSMENT OF JATROPHA CURCAS OIL BASED
BIOLUBRICANT FOR LIGHT GEAR APPLICATIONS
Emmanuel Okon Wilson and Kokoe e Idiong E im
Depa men o Mechanical Enginee ing, Akwa Ibom S a e Poly echnic, Iko Osu ua, Akwa Ibom,
Nige ia PMB 1200
Co esponding E-mail add esses:
✉
[email p o ec ed]
ARTICLE
INFO
ABSTRACT
Pape ID: IJASTR-
68DD600ECDE23
Pape ID: IJASTR-
68DC0B9A3E3C4
Recei ed: 2025-09-02
Published: 2025-10-
02
DOI:
h ps://dx.doi.o
g/10.5281/zenod
o.17330429
Page No: 153-163
The ja opha cu cas oil was ex ac ed om he seed wi h he use o a soxhle appa a us
wi h pe oleum e he as he sol en o oil ex ac ion. The ex ac ed oil was subjec ed o
physiochemical cha ac e isa ion o de e mine he i s densi y, acid alue, ee a y acid
alue (FFA) con en , kinema ic iscosi y a 50˚C and 100˚C , i s iscosi y index and
saponi ica ion alue. A alue o 15.2% was de e mined o he FFA which is abo e he
h eshold alue o oils o be used as lub ican hus indica ing ha i gin Ja opha cu cas
seed oil is unsui able o use as lub ican in i s aw o m. Thus he aw, unal e ed ja opha
cu cas oil was p e- ea ed ia es e i ica ion using me hanol and his educed he FFA
con en o 0.51%. This p e- ea ed oil wi h lowe FFA was hen subjec ed o a wo s age
anses e i ica ion p ocess. The i s s age saw he oil ans o med in o i s me hyl es e s
(FAME) and he second s age ans o ming he me hyl es e h ough polyol
anses e i ica ion wi h e hylene glycol esul ing in he syn hesis o he biolub ican . The
syn hesised biolub ican was assessed o con o mance wi h cu en indus ial s anda d
lub ican and i s ibological and he mal p ope ies we e in line. The biolub ican had pou
poin , kinema ic iscosi y a 50 ˚C and 100˚C, and iscosi y index de e mined o be -8˚C,
59.25cS , 11.52cS and 191.15 espec i ely. These alues showed ha he o mula ed
biolub ican exhibi s a ou able p ope ies e en a low empe a u e, s able iscosi y-
empe a u e beha iou , and pe ec lub ica i e p ope ies. These pe o mance pa ame e s
we e ound o be in andem wi h ISO VG-46 comme cial lub ican s which a e u ilised in
ligh and indus ial gea applica ions.
Keywo ds: Ja opha cu cas, biolub ican , wo s age anses e i ica ion, ibological and
he mal p ope ies, oil ex ac ion, physiochemical cha ac e isa ion
1. INTRODUCTION
The demand o pe oleum-based lub ican s has pu a s ain on he wo ld ese e o c ude oil.
I has also been disco e ed ha he e a e nega i e en i onmen al consequences associa ed wi h
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Technical Resea ch
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ISSN 2249-9954
Ci e This Pape : Emmanuel Okon Wilson and Kokoe e Idiong E im (2025). "PRODUCTION
AND ASSESSMENT OF JATROPHA CURCAS OIL BASED BIOLUBRICANT FOR
LIGHT GEAR APPLICATIONS". INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH (IJASTR), ol. 15, no. 5, 2025, pp. 152-161.
DOI: h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17330429
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he use o pe oleum-based lub ican s (Adol e al., 2018), (Udounwa and Wilson, 2025). These
easons and mo e ha e necessi a ed he need o a de ia ion om he use o pe oleum-based
p oduc s o he use o mo e en i onmen ally iendly al e na i es. The use o “g een” lub ican s
has been en isaged. This is due o he ac ha hey a e eadily a ailable and mos impo an ly,
hey a e biodeg adable, hus ende ing hem en i onmen ally iendly (Wilson e al., 2024). A
d awback o he use o g een al e na i es is ha i pu s a s ain on he a ailabili y o ood o
human consump ion. To his end, i has been sugges ed ha only pa s o plan s which a e no
edible be used as bio-lub ican s (Ka maka e al., 2017). This has assis ed in eeing up la ge
olumes o ag icul u al p oduc s o human usage and consump ion. This also se es as a
means o ecycling ag icul u al was e. Ja opha cu cas seed is known o i s possession o high
oil yield and due o i s inedible na u e, i se es as an excellen al e na i e o use as bio-
lub ican (Li and Wang, 2015). On i s own, aw Ja opha cu cas seed oil has poo oxida i e
s abili y, high pou poin , and an inadequa e iscosi y index, and hese ac o s ende i
unsui able o use as lub ican . To emedy his disad an age, he aw Ja opha cu cas oil mus
be subjec ed o chemical modi ica ions such as anses e i ica ion, epoxida ion, and
polyes e i ica ion, which would ans o m i and ende i sui able o use as bio-lub ican . This
esea ch looks a he syn hesis o bio-lub ican om Ja opha cu cas seed oil and assessing i s
sui abili y o use in indus ies by compa ing i side-by-side wi h ASTM s anda d pe o ming
lub ican s (Musa e al., 2016).
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Ma e ials and eagen s
The ma e ials used o his s udy include Ja opha cu cas seed, analy ical g ade eagen s used
include pe oleum e he , po assium hyd oxide (KOH), sodium hyd oxide (NaOH),
hyd ochlo ic acid (HCl), sul u ic acid (H
2
SO
4
), isop opyl alcohol, sodium me hoxide solu ion,
and phenolph halein indica o . All chemicals we e p ocu ed in high quali y o minimize
expe imen al a iabili y.
2.2 Ins umen s and equipmen
The ollowing ins umen s we e used, a mechanical p ess o pul e izing he seeds o educe
diame e and inc ease he su ace a ea o he ex ac ion sol en o pene a e, a soxhle
appa a us o ex ac ion o oil om pul e ized seeds, a iscome e o measu ing he esul ing
oils iscosi y. O he equipmen include a hea ing man le, wa e ba he, an analy ical weighing
balance, labo a o y glasswa e including g adua ed cylinde s, conical lasks, bu e es, pipe es,
beake s, ound bo om lasks we e p ocu ed and employed. Magne ic s i e s, e o s ands wi h
clamps, Liebig condense s wi h g ound glass join s, he mome e s we e used in measu ing
oom and ele a ed empe a u es.
2.3 Me hodological app oach
The me hodology o his s udy was achie ed in he ollowing phases.
i. P elimina y p epa a ion o Ja opha cu cas seed pa s p io o oil ex ac ion.
ii. Ex ac ion o oil om pul e ized and d ied Ja opha cu cas seed.
iii. Physiochemical cha ac e iza ion o ex ac ed Ja opha cu cas oil.
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i . Chemical modi ica ion o ex ac ed Ja opha cu cas oil ia es e i ica ion and ans-
es e i ica ion o p oduce he biolub ican .
. Tes ing and compa ison o p oduced biolub ican wi h ASTM s anda d lub ican s.
2.3.1 P elimina y P epa a ion o Ja opha cu cas Seed be o e ex ac ion (Oil seed p e-
ea men )
The ollowing p ocessed whe e unde aken when p epa ing he specimens p io o ex ac ion.
These p ocesses included:
a) Washing o Seed Pa s
He e, he a ocado seed pa s we e washed in wa e o emo e deb is. This was done so as o
a oid con amina ion o he oil du ing ex ac ion.
b) Pul e isa ion o seed
The seeds we e g a ed, ha is, educed in size o allow o inc eased su ace a ea so he sol en
o be used can pe cola e and ge o e e y a ea and pa o he subs a es. As shown in Figu es
1a-b is a pic o ial ep esen a ion o he g a ing p ocess.
Fig 1a and 1b: Pul e isa ion o Ja opha seeds o inc ease he su ace a ea p io o oil
ex ac ion
c) D ying o Pul e ised Ja opha Seed o emo e mois u e
The Pul e ised Seeds (see Figu e 2) we e sp ead unde he sun o ou (4) days o achie e
pe ec d yness. They we e d ied o emo e all o ms o mois u e p io o ex ac ion. The igu e
below shows he a ocado pa s while being d ied.
Fig. 2: Pul e ised g a ed Ja opha seeds
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2.3.2 Ex ac ion o oil om pul e ized and d ied Ja opha cu cas seed.
As shown in Figu e 3, he oil ex ac ion was ca ied ou a he pha macognosy pos g adua e
labo a o y, Uni e si y o Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom S a e. The sol en ex ac ion me hod was
selec ed due o i s e iciency in e ms o oil yield. Since oil is a non-pola ma e ial, a non-pola
sol en was selec ed o be used o he ex ac ion. Pe oleum E he was used in ex ac ing oils
om he specimens. The Soxhle ex ac ion me hod was used in a bid o minimize sol en loss
and maximise i s use.
2000g o d ied in ba ches o 500g, c ushed and d ied Ja opha seeds we e pu in o he ex ac ion
chambe . Pe oleum E he was pu in o he boiling lask. And he se up was clamped on o he
hea ing man el. The hea ing man el was swi ched on and empe a u e was main ained a 10 ˚C.
As he hea ing man el empe a u e inc eased, he Pe oleum E he e apo a ed om empe a u e
inc ease. Upon e apo a ion, i lowed in o he condense sec ion whe e wa e supply cooled i
o and i d opped in o he ex ac ion chambe .
When he condensed pe oleum e he illed he ex ac ion chambe , i was siphoned back in o
he boiling lask oge he wi h he ex ac ed oil om he ex ac ion chambe .
This p ocess was epea ed o ou (4) hou s. A e ha , he equipmen was swi ched o and
he c ushed seed om which oil was ex ac ed in o he sol en was emo ed and eplaced wi h
ano he 1000g o d ied, c ushed subs a e. A e ex ac ing oil om 2000g o c ushed and d ied
ja opha seeds, he oil which is ussed wi h Pe oleum E he inside he boiling lask was pou ed
in o a con aine and kep in he open wi hin oom empe a u e o he pe oleum e he o be
e apo a ed he eby emaining only pu e a ocado seed.
Fig 3 (a) Weighing he d ied, pul e ised Ja opha cu cas seeds (b) Pe oleum E he (c) Hea ing
Man el (d) Soxhle appa a us se -up.
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2.3.3 CHARACTERIZATION OF JATROPHA CRUDE OIL
Densi y
Analy ical weighing balance was used o weigh an emp y beake , a e which i s mass was
eco ded. 40 cm³ o he subs a e, which is he Ja opha cu cas oil was pu in he emp y beake ,
and he new mass was weighed. The ne mass o he subs a e, which is he Ja opha cu cas
oil, was de i ed by sub ac ing he combined mass om he mass o he emp y beake . The
densi y o he oil was de i ed om he a io o he sample mass o he known olume, which
is 40 cm³ as p esen ed in Equa ion 1.
=
(1)
Viscosi y
The kinema ic iscosi y o he Ja opha cu cas oil sample was de i ed a 50°C and 100°C,
espec i ely, using a iscome e . A beake con aining he oil was pu inside he hea ing man le
and he empe a u e was inc eased, while cons an ly s i ing he oil o achie e uni o m hea ing.
The spindle moun ed on o he iscome e was imme sed in he oil o he calib a ion ma k,
which was si ua ed a he middle o he sha inden a ion. The spindle o a ed up un il s eady
s a e condi ions we e achie ed, which was shown by he dial eading. The dynamic iscosi y
o he sample was iden i ied a he inal eading and exp essed in millipascal-seconds (mPa),
in con o mance wi h ASTM D445 guidelines o iscosi y measu emen .
Saponi ica ion alue
The saponi ica ion alue (SV) was de e mined in line wi h AOCS guidelines. 2.00g o Ja opha
cu cas oil was weighed and in used in o a conical lask. 50 cm³ o 0.5 N e hanolic KOH was
added o he lask and he mix u e gen ly s i ed, which esul ed in o al saponi ica ion o he
iglyce ides. The un eac ed KOH was i a ed agains 0.5 N hyd ochlo ic acid using 3 d ops
o phenolph halein indica o (Mohammed-Dabo e al., 2012).
The saponi ica ion alue o he oil samples was hen calcula ed using Equa ion 2.
=
( ! )(#!$ % #&')(().+)
(2)
Pou poin
The oil was ans e ed in o a es ube suspended in a labo a o y e ige a o and cooled un il
comple e solidi ica ion was achie ed. The solid es ube was emo ed and allowed o de os
unde ambien empe a u e, a e which a he mome e was used o iden i y he empe a u e a
which he es ube i s began o u n mol en. This empe a u e was eco ded as he pou poin
o he oil. This empe a u e was seen as he lowes empe a u e a which he oil exhibi ed he
abili y o low unde g a i y. This was also indica i e o he oil's lowes ope a ional empe a u e
Pe cen age ee a y acid (%FFA)
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To de e mine he pe cen age- ee a y acid in a me hod in line wi h he Ame ican Oil
Chemis s’ Socie y (AOCS) O icial Me hod Cd 5a-40, 2.00g o Ja opha cu cas oil was pu in
a conical lask and i s mass was eco ded. 20 ml o isop opyl alcohol and 3 d ops o
phenolph halein indica o solu ion was added. The mix u e was i a ed wi h 0.1 N po assium
hyd oxide solu ion while being s i ed. S i ing con inued un il a pink end poin showed o 30
seconds. The ee a y acid con en was de i ed using Equa ion 3.
%-- =
(. % !/)(#!$ % #&')(01.0)
2 100 (3)
Acid alue
To de e mine he acid alue o he oil in line wi h he Ame ican Oil Chemis s’ Socie y (AOCS)
O icial Me hod Cd 5a-40, 1.00g o Ja opha cu cas oil was pu in a conical lask, and 25
millili e s o isop opyl alcohol was added alongside 3 d ops o phenolph halein indica o , 0.1N
sodium hyd oxide was added and he mix u e s i ed un il a pink p ecipi a e was no iced. The
acid alue was de e mined using Equa ion 4.
56 =
( ! )(#!$ % #&')(().+)
2 100 (4)
Oil es e i ica ion
Es e i ica ion o he oil was necessa y o educe he p e- a y acid con en o he oil. To do his,
100 g ams o Ja opha cu cas oil was pu in o a 2L ound-bo om lask. Me hanol and
concen a ed sul u ic acid o 5% (w/w) and 20% (w/w) espec i ely we e pu in o a conical
lask and pou ed in o he ound-bo om lask con aining 100 g ams o oil. The new mix u e
was p ecipi a ed in a he mos a ic wa e base a 50˚C. The eac ion was main ained a 50˚C
unde con inuous s i ing a 500 e olu ions pe minu e ( pm). A e an hou (60 minu es), he
sample was emo ed using a pipe e and i a ed wi h 0.1N KOH solu ion. This was done o
de e mine he esidual p e- a y acid con en .
2.3.4 T anses e i ica ion o he oil
This p ocess con e s he iglyce ides in o a y acid acyl es e s, FAAE, using low molecula
weigh alcohols such as me hanol (Demi bas, 2011). The syn hesis o he biolub ican
pe aining o his esea ch was achie ed h ough a wo-s age anses e i ica ion p ocess. This
wo-s age anses e i ica ion p ocess in ol ed:
(i) The con e sion o he ex ac ed oil o me hyl es e s.
(ii) T ans o ming he me hyl es e s in o a polyes e h ough ano he anses e i ica ion
eac ion in ol ing polyol.
This wo-s age anses e i ica ion p ocess was chosen as i will esul in he syn hesis o
lub ican s wi h a o able ibological p ope ies, biodeg adabili y, and lub ici y.
(i) Me hyl es e syn hesis
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The i s s age o anses e i ica ion was done using me hanol in he p esence o po assium
hyd oxide. 100 millili e s o Ja opha cu cas oil was eac ed wi h me hanol in he a io 3
o 1 a empe a u e o 60 deg ees cen ig ade while con inuously being s ee ed o a pe iod
o 20 minu es.
(ii) Biolub ican syn hesis
The second anses e i ica ion s age in ol ed he con e sion o he me hyl es e o
biolub ican by eac ing i wi h e hylene glycol in he a io o 3.5:1. This eac ion was
ca ied ou in 50 mL ba ches. 0.5 M sodium me hoxide o 0.8% was used and i was
p epa ed by dissol ing eshly caugh me allic sodium in 20% me hanol as he ca alys . The
en i e eac ion las ed o h ee hou s and he mix u e was hea ed o a empe a u e o 120˚C.
The p ocess is demons a ed in Figu es 4-6.
Fig 4a Fig 4b Fig 4c
Fig 4 (a) Ja opha cu cas oil in a eac o inside wa e ba h (b) p ehea ing o he wa e ba h (c)
Ja opha cu cas oil es e i ica ion p oduc s in sepa a ion unnels
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Fig 5a Fig 5b Fig 5c
Fig 5(a) Sepa a ion o syn hesised Ja opha cu cas oil biolub ican om by-p oduc s (b)
Cleaning o biolub ican (c) Comple ely cleaned and sepa a ed Ja opha cu cas oil biolub ican
and wa e
Fig 6: Syn hesised Ja opha cu cas biolub ican in es ubes eady o es ing in mechanical
indus ial applica ions
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The esul s ob ained om he expe imen al analysis o bo h he eshly ex ac ed, unal e ed
Ja opha cu cas oil and he o mula ed biolub ican a e displayed in Tables 1, 2, and 3. The
indings a e discussed unde h ee majo sub-sec ions: (i) physicochemical cha ac e iza ion o
he c ude Ja opha oil, (ii) educ ion o ee a y acid (FFA) con en h ough es e i ica ion, and
(iii) e alua ion o he physicochemical and lub ica ing p ope ies o he syn hesized Ja opha-
based biolub ican .
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3.1 Cha ac e iza ion o Ja opha cu cas aw, i gin and unal e ed oil
The impo an cha ac e is ics o he c ude Ja opha cu cas oil wi h e e ence o lub ici y
include kinema ic iscosi ies a 50 °C and 100 °C, iscosi y index, and pou poin . As displayed
in Table 1, hese cha ac e is ics we e analysed o be 71.24 cS , 15.15 cS , 215.9, and 5 °C,
espec i ely. The combina ion o ela i ely high iscosi y, excellen iscosi y index, and a good
pou poin a e indica i e ha aw, i gin Ja opha cu cas oil possesses a ou able
physicochemical cha ac e is ics, making i a sui able and eliable aw ma e ial o biolub ican
p oduc ions. The es e i ica ion esul showing he dec ease in FFA wi h ime is p esen ed in
Table 2. Fu he mo e, he p ope ies o syn hesized biolub ican a e shown in Table 3.
Table 1: Cha ac e is ics o Ja opha cu cas Oil
S/N
P ope y Uni s Values
1
Densi y
Kg/m
910.7
2
Acid alue
Mg KOH/g
31.07
3
F ee a y acid(FFA)
%
13.9
4
Saponi ica ion alue
-
189.94
5
Pou poin
°C
4.7
6
Viscosi y@40°C
cS
71.24
7
Viscosi y@100°C
cS
15.15
8
Viscosi y index ( i)
-
215.9
Table 2: The es e i ica ion esul showing he dec ease in FFA wi h ime.
S/N Time (h) FFA (%)
1
0
15.2
2
1
13.25
3
2
6.98
4
3
4.32
5
4
2.15
6
5
0.51
Table 3. P ope ies o syn hesized biolub ican alongside s anda d p ope ies acco ding o ISO
VG-46 and hose o pe oleum based lub ican (Abdullahi ,2012)
P ope y Ja opha
c ude oil
Ja opha
biolub ican
ISO VG-46 Pe oleum
based
lub ican *
Densi y @ 25°C (Kg/m)
3
910.7
902.8
-
885.6
Viscosi y@40°C (cS )
71.24
59.25
>41.4
10.801
Viscosi y@100°C (cS )
15.15
11.52
>4.1
3.136
Viscosi y index
215.9
191.15
>90
165.4
Pou poin
5
-
8
-
10
-
9
The ee a y acid (FFA) con en o he aw, i gin Ja opha cu cas oil was analysed o be
15.2%, which is qui e high. A his high alue, he di ec use o he ex ac ed aw Ja opha
cu cas oil o lub ican syn hesis would likely esul in e y high saponi ica ion alues, leading
o undesi able consequences such as oam o ma ion. Also, in alkaline-ca alyzed
