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Peer-reviewedCC BYACS omega

Catalytic Valorization of Palm-Based Fatty Acids into High-Performance Estolide Ester Lubricants.

  • Paphada Watcharapo1
  • Pawnprapa Pitakjakpipop1
  • Wipark Anutrasakda2
  • Harit Pitakjakpipop3
  1. 1National Energy Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 114 Thailand Science Park, Phahonyothin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
  2. 2Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Payathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
  3. 3National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 111 Thailand Science Park, Phahonyothin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
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Abstract

Lubricants derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource, raise increasing concerns regarding environmental impact and long-term sustainability, driving demand for renewable alternatives. Vegetable oils are promising candidates; however, their direct use is limited by poor oxidative stability and inadequate low-temperature performance. Herein, palm-derived oleic acid and lauric acid were catalytically valorized into estolide esters via a one-pot process using Amberlyst-15 as a heterogeneous sulfonic acid catalyst. Estolide formation followed by esterification with 2-ethylhexanol proceeded efficiently under vacuum, with the catalyst retaining its ion-exchange capacity and chemical composition after consecutive steps. The effects of reaction temperature, mole ratio, and catalyst amount on estolide synthesis were examined. The resulting oleic-lauric estolide esters (OL-EST-EH) exhibited favorable lubricant-relevant properties, including a high viscosity index (158-169), excellent cloud point below -25 °C, pour point below -27 °C, and oxidative stability of up to 20.3 h under accelerated testing at 140 °C. These results highlight OL-EST-EH as a promising biobased base oil candidate for formulating high-performance, environmentally sustainable lubricants.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{watcharapo2026catalytic,
  title = {{Catalytic Valorization of Palm-Based Fatty Acids into High-Performance Estolide Ester Lubricants.}},
  author = {Paphada Watcharapo and Pawnprapa Pitakjakpipop and Wipark Anutrasakda and Harit Pitakjakpipop},
  journal = {ACS omega},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c05480},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948430},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Catalytic Valorization of Palm-Based Fatty Acids into High-Performance Estolide Ester Lubricants.
AU  - Paphada Watcharapo
AU  - Pawnprapa Pitakjakpipop
AU  - Wipark Anutrasakda
AU  - Harit Pitakjakpipop
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
JO  - ACS omega
DO  - 10.1021/acsomega.6c05480
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948430
AB  - Lubricants derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource, raise increasing concerns regarding environmental impact and long-term sustainability, driving demand for renewable alternatives. Vegetable oils are promising candidates; however, their direct use is limited by poor oxidative stability and inadequate low-temperature performance. Herein, palm-derived oleic acid and lauric acid were catalytically valorized into estolide esters via a one-pot process using Amberlyst-15 as a heterogeneous sulfonic acid catalyst. Estolide formation followed by esterification with 2-ethylhexanol proceeded efficiently under vacuum, with the catalyst retaining its ion-exchange capacity and chemical composition after consecutive steps. The effects of reaction temperature, mole ratio, and catalyst amount on estolide synthesis were examined. The resulting oleic-lauric estolide esters (OL-EST-EH) exhibited favorable lubricant-relevant properties, including a high viscosity index (158-169), excellent cloud point below -25 °C, pour point below -27 °C, and oxidative stability of up to 20.3 h under accelerated testing at 140 °C. These results highlight OL-EST-EH as a promising biobased base oil candidate for formulating high-performance, environmentally sustainable lubricants.
SN  - 2470-1343
ER  -