Palm oil as a biolubricant: Literature review of processing parameters and tribological performance

Palm oil is recognized as the most widely used vegetable oil worldwide, and its market has recently experienced an important growth mainly driven by China and India. Palm oil has significant value, not only in the food market and as a commodity, but also as an alternative biolubricant due to its massive production and potential to replace petroleum-based lubricants. However, as some concerns related to land use, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity have accompanied said growth, a more controlled extraction process, a better use of the extracted oil, and a higher performance of the obtained products are necessary. This study reviews the literature concerned with the processing and tribological performance of palm oil. It was found that temperature control in different palm oil production processes and some alternatives in additivation can expand the range of options of palm oil as a biolubricant in industrial applications.