Soybean Oil as a High Value Fuel Cell Energy Source & Lubricant

The purpose of this project is to develop a process to convert soybean oil into a renewable, environmentally friendly and safe fuel cell energy source and into lubricants such as motor oils that can meet today's high performance automobile and other engine specifications. There is great need and interest for alternative energy sources for the rapidly expanding applications for advanced batteries/fuel cells from mobile phones to automobiles and aircraft to the emerging drone market. The worldwide market for lubricants is about 36 Mt with that for motor oils being ~ 20 Mt. Soybean oil can currently be used as fuel cell energy source and an automobile engine oil but only for short periods and do not meet fuel cell and automotive manufacturer's specifications due to the poor oxidative stability of the double bonds of the unsaturated fatty acids. This is the case even with very high oleate soybean oil. Solutions to this problem include converting the double bonds in soybean oil into branch-chain groups. Such groups can have the adequate low temperature fluidity and lubricity + the needed very high oxidative stability. Various organisms including plants are capable of synthesizing and accumulating branch-chain groups in oil but no such natural sources can produce these materials in high quantities or at low costs. The overall goal of the proposed research is to convert unsaturated fatty acids in soybean oil into branch-chain groups. This will convert normal soybean oil fatty acids into forms with superior fuel cell and industrial lubricant properties; high oxidative stability with good flow properties over a wide range of temperatures. Soybean oil containing high levels of branched chain fatty acids (BCFAs) will be developed by converting double bonds into cyclopropyl, methyl, butyl, hexyl and phenyl substituted groups and filling in any remaining double bonds via catalytic hydrogenation if needed. Soybean oils of differing fatty acid compositions will be tested to see if certain oil compositions are more economical with this process. This will convert normal soybean oil fatty acids into forms with superior industrial lubricant properties; high oxidative stability with good flow properties over a wide range of temperatures. The oxidative stability and low temperature fluidity of the new oil derivatives will be tested. Finally the performance of the new soy oil derivatives as a fuel cell energy source and motor oil will be evaluated.