Study of soybean lecithin as multifunctional lubricating additives

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the antirust, tribological performance and anti-wear (AW) mechanism of the of soybean lecithin (SL) as a kind of multifunctional lubricant additive. Design/methodology/approach - As a kind of multifunctional lubricant additive, the antirust performance of SL was tested according to ASTM D 665, and meanwhile, its tribological performances were also evaluated by Optimol SRV-I oscillating reciprocating friction and wear tester and four ball tester. The worn steel surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Findings - The results showed that the SL exhibited excellent antirust properties in different base stock, and could effectively improve the AW and extreme pressure (EP) performances. The results of SEM and XPS indicated that a protective film was formed between steel-steel friction pair during the tribological test. Originality/value - This paper first investigated the antirust properties and the tribological mechanism of the SL as a kind of multifunctional lubricant additive, which can be very useful and will promote the application of SL in lubricant industry.