FORMULASI PEMBUATAN BIOGREASE DENGAN BASE OIL EPOKSI RBDPO

Abstract

Biogrease is a semi-solid lubricant produced using vegetable oil. The biogrease consists of base oil and
thickening agent. Base oil modification is done to change properties such as viscosity, adhesive properties to iron,
etc. which have an impact on tribological properties. One of the modifications made is the epoxidation of the base
oil to increase the viscosity value. Epoxidation of the olein fraction /RBDPO (Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm
Olein) was carried out by reacting olein with acetic acid and peroxide acid. This study aimed to find the best time
in the synthesis of RBDPO epoxy base oil, to study the effect of variations in % thickener on the characteristics of
biogrease, and the best characteristics of biogrease produced from RBDPO epoxy base oil. The epoxidation was
carried out with a ratio of RBDPO : acetic acid : peroxide acid of 1: 5: 2 at a temperature of 50°C, with various
experimental times of 3 hours, 4 hours, and 5 hours. The epoxidation results calculated the oxirane number and
iodine number with two replications, then analyzed ANOVA statistics and LSD test. Furthermore, the best
epoxidation results were formulated with a thickening agent with a ratio of 80:20 and 85:15 to produce biogrease.
The statistical analysis showed that the best epoxidation time is 3 hours. Thickening agent affects the texture of
biogrease. Biogrease with a ratio of base oil with a thickener of 80: 20 has a short fibrous texture (short fibril)
with an NLGI value of 3, while biogrease with a ratio of 85: 15 has a brittle texture with an NLGI value of 00. The
best biogrease produced in this study is biogrease with a ratio of 80:20 with an NLGI value of 3.
Keywords: biogrease, palm oil, base oil, RBDPO, epoxidation