Please cite this article in press as: Dodos, G.S., et al., Renewable fuels and lubricants from Lunaria annua L.. Ind. Crops Prod. (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.05.046 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model INDCRO-8100; No. of Pages 8 Industrial Crops and Products xxx (2015) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Crops and Products journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop Renewable fuels and lubricants from Lunaria annua L. George S. Dodos ∗ , Dimitrios Karonis, Fanourios Zannikos, Evripidis Lois School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Fuel Technology and Lubricants, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 16 February 2015 Received in revised form 20 May 2015 Accepted 21 May 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Lunaria annua L. Transesterification Biodiesel Lunaria oil methyl esters Biolubricants Lunaria oil trimethylolpropane esters a b s t r a c t A non-edible fatty oil coming from Lunaria annua plant (honesty plant) was investigated as a starting material for the sequential production of biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters—FAME) and biolubricants (trimethylolpropane esters). Lunaria oil constitutes an attractive feedstock because of its unusual fatty acid profile comprising mainly of erucic (22:1) and nervonic (24:1) acid. For the production of the desired biobased products, the following transesterification methodology was applied. At first, Lunaria oil was converted to the corresponding methyl esters via methanolysis reaction and the produced FAME was assessed as automotive fuel according to the specified requirements and test methods included in the European Standard EN14214. In order to synthesize the environmentally adapted lubricants, part of the previously prepared methylesters was converted to trimethylolpropane (TMP) esters via alkaline trans- esterification reaction. Lunaria TMP esters were evaluated as potential lubricant basestock regarding their physicochemical properties and their lubricating performance. Concerning fuel properties, Lunaria methyl esters appear to satisfy the majority of the EN14214 requirements with the exception of kinematic viscosity due to the high content of long chain fatty acids. However, the later could be counterbalanced though blending with other types of low quality feedstock. On the other hand, the high monounsaturated content is beneficial to other properties such as oxidation stability. The synthesized TMP esters demon- strate very good lubricating properties as well as oxidation stability, and thus, they could be utilized as lubricant basestock in the formulation of high added value biolubricants for special and environmentally sensitive applications. As a whole, Lunaria oil appears to be an interesting feedstock for the production of biodiesel and especially biobased lubricant basestock. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The environmental concern for petroleum products, the dictates of sustainable development and the geopolitical strategies regard- ing crude oil reserves are some of the driving forces toward the development of alternative renewable fuels and lubricants from oilseeds over the last decades. The European Comission has set a number of targets by year 2020. According to RED (Renewable Energy Directive – 2009/28/EC) and FQD (Fuel Quality Directive – 2009/30/EC), a 10% share in all forms of transport concerning the energy from renewable sources in the transport has to be met, whereas a 6% reduction in the green- house gases of fuels used in road transport has to be achieved by the same year. Moreover, a proposed sustainability criterion designates that the share of energy from biofuels produced from food crops shall be limited to 5% of the final consumption of energy in trans- port in order to meet the RED 10% target (COM, 2012, 595). Biodiesel ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 210 7723213; fax: +30 210 7723163. E-mail address: gdodos@central.ntua.gr (G.S. Dodos). is one of the most widely used first generation biofuel. It is a renew- able substitute of conventional petroleum diesel fuel consisting of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) that is being added nowadays as a mixing component at a maximum concentration of 7% v/v in the EU. In Europe, a continuing shift from gasoline to diesel fuel is observed leading to increased demands of diesel and subsequently biodiesel fuel (Maniatis, 2012). Rapeseed, soybean, palm, and sun- flower oil are the main source materials for biodiesel production; however, those constitute edible crops (Escobar et al., 2009; Singh and Singh, 2010). Since the 1st generation biofuels (FAME) are still the prominent widely available diesel substitutes, the exploitation of alternative non-food crops as feedstock is advised. On the other hand, biobased lubricants (or biolubricants) are high added value commodities, and their market is considered to be one of the most promising sectors universally. Nowadays, the consumption of biolubricants in the EU-27 is estimated to be about 100.000 t/a largerly in total loss and high risk application. However, according to various forecasts, the volume could be quadrupled in the 2020th in case of binding political framework for supporting biobased (Luther, 2014). A first significant step was made by CEN in 2011 by publishing the Technical Report 16227 that sets the http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.05.046 0926-6690/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.