Argentinean Jojoba Lubricant
by TreeHugger on 04.30.05
We've already informed about Arab Emirates project to use Jojoba oil as fuel some time ago. Well, national newspaper La Nación recently published that the Argentinean province Córdoba National University is working next to one of the major petrol refiners, Repsol YPF, to develop an non contaminant lubricant for cars out of this same seed's content.
Conventional lubricants are produced out of petroleum, a commodity that gets more and more expensive. When used, they usually end up at the soil or water, causing irreversible contamination, as nature lacks of microorganisms which can degrade it. Green lubricants, on the other hand, disappear naturally out of microbic action as any other organic fat.
The group that's investigating this is focused in characterizing the oil in each cultivation, finding new extraction processes and also characterizing the wax remaining when the seed is compacted. Other aspects considered are how to improve the lubricant ability of the wax lowering its solidification point.
Argentina has the largest planted surface of this seed, with 4031 hectares. [by Paula Alvarado, from Buenos Aires]
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What [i]lubricant[i/]plications (guns, &c.) is this stuff used for?