Sustainability of chemically modified Simarouba glauca for tribological applications and chemical structure analysis at different loads

Various friction and wear issues are brought on by using biodiesel in automotive engines. The current study uses a pin-on-disc tribotester to measure the friction and wear properties of Simarouba glauca biodiesel at various concentration levels. The investigated fuels were SGB100 biodiesel, diesel, and three different biodiesel mixes, including SGB15 (15% biodiesel and 85% diesel), SGB30, and SGB50. Tests were carried out for 1500 s at ambient temperature with standard loads of 50 N and 100 N at a rotating speed of 1500 rpm. Surface characterization was also conducted using a microscope to analyze the pin’s worn surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and gas chromatography was done to check the feasibility of Simarouba glauca biodiesel as a lubricant. Furthermore, elemental analysis was also done to report metal loss during tribological characterization. The results showed that the coefficient of friction while considering SGB100 was minimum compared to other blends and diesel, i.e., 0.412 at 50 N and 0.478 at 100 N. The wear scar comes out 0.27 mm at 50 N and 1.14 mm at 100 N compared to diesel having 0.82 mm and 1.73 mm at respective loads. It appeared that the wear in SGB100 was 28% less than that in diesel. In the elemental analysis, SGB100 showed 10.1 ppm aluminum and 1.8 ppm magnesium loss compared to diesel having 14.4 aluminum and 3.7 ppm magnesium loss. Also, other blends showed improved properties compared to diesel, making them suitable for tribological applications.