Optimisation of Bearing Grease Production

Grease is a mixture of a fluid lubricant, usually petroleum oil and a thickener (soap) dispersed in the oil. The base oil (petroleum) can be changed by using the biodegradable oils. Other then base oil, thickener may play an important role in the mixture. Soap thickeners are formed by reacting metallic hydroxide, or alkali, with a fat, fatty acid, or ester. Since the petroleum prices will increase each year, using non edible oilseed karanja as base oil is the best solution to produce grease in the low cost and decrease pollution. An environmental friendly biogrease has been formulated using karanja oil as base oil and lithium 12-hydroxy-stearate as thickener. Lithium complex greases are commonly specified for use in high- temperature applications, such as automobile wheel bearings and engines. The usual thickener system in lithium complex grease consists of the lithium salts of 12- hydroxyl stearate. In this study, the characteristics of lithium 12-hydroxystearate grease with additives to conventional lithium complex grease were compared. Biogrease can be synthesized via trans-esterification reactions. The making process of the bio grease was carried out in a reactor developed.