The Quest for Sustainable Cutting Fluids: Palm Kernel Oil as an Eco-friendly Alternative

Abstract

Cutting fluids are employed in the industry to maintain workpiece quality, tool life, and overall high productivity in machining. However, a large proportion of these cutting fluids pollute the environment and are toxic and harmful to human health, wildlife and the environment. This study aims to enhance the performance of palm kernel oil as a cutting fluid for machining operations, addressing the need for sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional cutting fluids. The primary objectives are to evaluate the performance of palm kernel oil in terms of machining parameters, tool wear, surface finish and cutting temperature of AISI 304 alloy steel. An experimental design approach is employed involving samples of Palm kernel oil, castor oil, Aquicut 40 soluble cutting oil (commercial cutting fluid) and formulated palm kernel base cutting fluid (mixture of palm kernel oil and castor oil), which were characterized by investigating the physiochemical properties. The experimental results revealed that the formulated palm kernel-based oil showed a 10.10 pH value, 2.023 Pas viscosity value at 280°C, resistant to corrosion, stable, dark yellowish coloration and generally liquid at 280°C. At the spindle speed, feed rate, and depth of cut of 800 rev/min, 0.20 min/rev and 1200 mm, the utmost cutting temperature is 780°C. The optimal signal-to-noise ratio response parameters were achieved with palm kernel/castor oil turning using a cutting velocity of 800 rev/min, feed rate of 0.15 min/rev and depth of cut 1.0 min. Also, segmented, short, snarled, and washed chip formation was obtained during machining. The results show significant improvements in the machining performance with formulated palm kernel-based oil concentrations yielding reduced tool wear and improved surface finish. This research contributes to the development of sustainable cutting fluid solutions for machining operations.