Performance Investigation of Chain Saw Lubricants Based on New Sunflower Oil (NSO)

Thanks to advancements in biotechnology, lubricants obtained from oil-seeds are being used, over the past twenty years, in the sensitivity environment. These oils are drawing attention as biodegradable alternatives for synthetic esters because they are less expensive and are available from renewable resources. Lubricants derived from vegetable sources have been used in many applications among them the chainsaw bar oil demands are very often. In this paper laboratory investigations of physical and chemical properties, friction and antiwear characteristics are presented using chainsaw oil based on domestic New Sunflower oil and compared with standard lubricating oils for the same purpose. At the first stage the main issue was to solve the selection of base oil and additives regarding their compatibility, mutual solubility and stability. In the second stage the additive influence to improve oxidation stability was investigated, and finally tribological properties were tested. The results show that properly formulated vegetable oil-based lubricant, like New Sunflower, can approval an oxidative stability and can be comparable to mineral oil in other characteristics.