Experimental and statistical analysis of apricot (Prunus armeniaca) oil-based biolubricant under various temperature conditions

This study specifically focuses on the utilisation of Apricot kernel oil (Prunus armeniaca) as a fundamental component in synthesising a biolubricant through transesterification, presenting a two-part approach for evaluating its tribological performance. The first part involves an experimental analysis employing a variable temperature ball-on-disc tribometer to assess blends of the biolubricant and 15W40 oil. The second part encompasses statistical analysis utilising ANOVA to rigorously examine the performance of the biolubricant in comparison to the commercially available 15W40 oil. The findings from the tribometer experiments reveal that an optimised blend (70% of 15W40 + 30% of biolubricant) of both lubricants exhibits superior tribological performance compared to individual constituents of the blend under various temperature condition. Additionally, the statistical tool ANOVA emerges as a robust and effective method for validating the experimental results. This research contributes to the understanding of the potential of biolubricants as environmentally friendly alternatives in the realm of lubrication.