Evaluation of a high oleic soybean oil variety in lubricant and biodiesel applications

Soybean oil is an abundant commodity crop that has garnered attention for its use as a feedstock for sustainable materials. Soybean oil is high in polyunsaturated fatty acid content, which can promote undesirable properties in biodiesel and lubricant applications. In this work, we characterized the fatty acid composition of commercial soybean oil along with two other soybean oil varieties, Ellis and TN18-4110. Ellis and commercial soybean oils had similar fatty acid compositions, while TN18-4110 was enriched in the monounsaturated oleic acid. Biodiesel and estolides were prepared from the three varieties and the relevant physical properties were measured. In comparison to commercial soybean diesel, both Ellis and TN18-4110 exhibited unique advantages. As estolide-based lubricants, all three varieties had advantageous cold flow properties, but TN18-4110 also possessed excellent oxidative stability and lower viscosity. The physical properties and structural property relationships of the biodiesel and estolides are discussed.