One step closer to sustainable agricultural machinery

Modern agriculture is heavily dependent on machinery for field work, forestry, and livestock farming. This equipment requires significant quantities of lubricants and hydraulic oils, which are typically fossil-based and non-biodegradable. The project From Field to Engine has investigated bio-based and biodegradable lubricants and hydraulic oils, and the results can now be found in the project's final report. Project Manager Maria Pettersson from Chalmers Industriteknik summarises the work below.

What did you investigate in the project? 

The project aimed to explore the possibility of developing bio-based and biodegradable lubricants. The focus was on developing ester-based bio-oils produced from renewable fatty acids.

What were the most important results? 

The project demonstrated that it is feasible to synthesise bio-based esters suitable for lubricant applications.

How can the results be used moving forward? 

The positive results enable further work towards scaling up and future industrialisation, which is of interest to all project partners.

Project partners: Chalmers Industriteknik, Aspen, BASF, Fuchs Lubricants Sweden, and Lantmännen. On the project page below, you can read the project's final report.