Microalgae Oil-Based Metal Working Fluids for Sustainable Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) Operations—A Perspective

Abstract

This article presents a perspective on the potential use of microalgae oils in the production of metal working fluids (MWFs) used for minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) operations. The generalities of MQL operations and requirements of MWFs, and current advances in the development of the most promising microalgae oils with high contents of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids were reviewed and discussed. The analysis of data, discussions, and conclusions of numerous studies published recently and combined with the experience of the multidisciplinary team of authors strongly suggest that microalgae oils do indeed have great potential as sustainable and eco-friendly base oils for producing semi-synthetic MWFs, soluble oils and straight cutting fluids for MQL operations. Additionally, gaps and challenges focused on the use of agro-industry wastewater in microalgae production, green harvesting and oil extraction methods, and replacement of toxic additives in MWFs by green nanoparticles and biopolymers were identified and highlighted for achieving massive microalgae oil-based MWFs production and truly green machining processes.

Viscoelastic Water-Based Lubricants with Nopal Cactus Mucilage as Green Metalworking Fluids

“…It must be said, however, that the studied solutions may well be used in flood lubrication. MQL consists of applying the minimum dose of MWF required to lubricate and cool down the workpiece and cutting tool interface along with an air-assisted jet (tiny droplets of MWF are dispersed in the air jet at high speed and applied to the cutting interface) [12]. The cutting tests were performed on a 5.5 HP lathe (Pinacho SP 200) under the lubrication and cutting parameters given in Table 2.…”

“…More recently, looking for better performance and environmental care, other research groups have studied the addition of different nanoparticles (i.e., TiO 2 [6], polyethyleneimine-reduced graphene oxide nanosheets [7], etc. ), ionic liquids [8,9], and bio-derived oils to produce water-based lubricants and green emulsions [10][11][12]. The use of bio-derived oils as additives has received increased attention since water-based lubricants in the form of green emulsions are extensively used in the global manufacturing industry as metalworking fluids (MWFs) for lubricating machining, cutting, and removal processes.…”

“…It is noteworthy that conventional MWFs are not readily biodegradable and have been reported as one of the most prevalent harmful effluents disposed of in the environment [15]. According to the state-of-the-art of MWFs, the most novel and potential green formulations are those based either on water blended with ionic liquids [16,17], eutectic solvents [18], or bio-oils and green emulsifiers [12]. These three trending technologies are effective but still present different challenges in terms of biodegradability, production costs, and usage conditions.…”

Green lubricants in action: a comprehensive performance evaluation of groundnut oil-based cutting fluids in metal machining processes

“…The authors aimed to produce and evaluate Pickering emulsions using Jatropha oil (JO) as the base and partially deacetylated and fibrillated chitin (PDFC) as the emulsifier at varying concentrations. Farfan-Cabrera et al [26] have produced microalgae oils as a promising solution for metalworking fluids (MWFs) used in MQL operations. The authors have explored the sustainability and eco-friendliness of microalgae oil-based metal working fluids.…”

Growth Behavior, Biomass Composition and Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) Production Potential of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Chlorella vulgaris Cultures

“…Recently, the use of microalgae for the obtention of lubricant oils such as metalwork fluids has been explored. For this application, microalgae should produce long-carbon-chain (C > 16) FAs [ 28 ]. Moreover, microalgae cultures have been considered as a viable option for such macromolecules, since their production can be more sustainable [ 29 ].…”