Applications of tall oil and tall oil fatty acids in metalworking fluids

01

Tall oil and tall oil fatty acids

Tall oil

“Tall oil” is a transliteration and paraphrase of “tall oil”, and its English expression is derived from the Swedish word “tall olja” for pine oil, which has been anglicized to distinguish it from the English word pine oil, that is, the essential oil distilled from pine roots, pine needles, pine branches and pine cones.

Tall oil, also known as liquid rosin, is an indispensable raw material in the industrial field, and its unique chemical properties make it widely used in various industries. Tall oils play a key role in the manufacture of products such as soaps, inks, rubber, plastics, paints, coatings, paper and lubricants.

Tall oil fatty acids

Tall oil fatty acid, referred to as tall oleic acid, is a chemical substance, which is a mixture of oleic acid, linoleic acid and their isomers. Tall oil fatty acid is a fatty acid prepared from tall oil, the appearance is light yellow transparent liquid, with the special smell of tallow, soluble in ether, chloroform, ethanol and carbon dioxide, but insoluble in water. The chemical properties of tall oil fatty acids are relatively active, and under certain conditions, they can chemically react with a variety of substances.

The composition structure of tall oil is similar to that of vegetable oil. Tall oil fatty acids are a mixture of various fatty acids with varying chain lengths and saturations, the most common of which are oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid. The carbon chain distribution of tall oil is similar to that of sunflower oil and soybean oil, and has a wider longer chain distribution (C16+) than coconut oil and palm kernel oil.

The unique property of tall oil fatty acids is that they contain different amounts of rosin. The presence of rosin forms some physical properties that cannot be obtained from vegetable oils and animal fats. For example, it reduces the biological activity of tall oil fatty acids in downstream formulations, especially metalworking fluids, household, industrial and institutional cleaning products.

Difference Between Tall Oil and Tall Oil Fatty Acids

In actual production, the content of rosin acid in tall oil is higher, and the content of oleic acid in tall oil fatty acids is higher, so the water resistance and anti-foaming properties of tall oil are better than those of tall oil fatty acids.

02

Application of tall oil and tall oil fatty acids in metalworking fluids

Tall oil

Tall oil plays an important role in metalworking fluids, as a rust inhibitor, emulsifier and lubricant to protect metal surfaces and improve processing efficiency. Compared to other commonly used oleic acids, tall oils exhibit better emulsification speed, lubricity and cleaning results, as well as strong foaming resistance.
Its excellent cooling, lubrication and anti-rust functions make it widely used in various machining equipment and processes, significantly reducing processing temperature, improving production efficiency, and meeting the diverse needs of cutting fluids in different fields. Whether in the production of soaps, varnishes, paints or in metalworking, tall oil is an indispensable key ingredient. Its versatility ensures its irreplaceable position in the industrial sector.
In the application of cutting fluids, tall oil is mainly used to prepare emulsified cutting fluids and semi-synthetic cutting fluids. Its ability to resist hard water is strong, and it can also refine the emulsion particles, which can make the particle size smaller, and make the solution more permeable and stable. In addition, tall oil can be used as an auxiliary emulsifier for cutting fluids, which can play a role in reducing the amount of main emulsifier.

Tall oil fatty acids

At present, tall oil fatty acids are mainly used in adhesives, inks, surfactants, paints and coatings, mining and metal processing.
Esters are one of the most common derivatives of tall oil fatty acids due to esterification of polyols (glycerol, pentaerythritol, and trimethylolpropane), short-chain alcohols, and ethoxylates. Alkyd resins are one of the main application areas for tall oil fatty acid esters. Short-chain alcohol esters have been used in biodiesel and synthetic lubricants and are used as surfactants. Tall oil fatty acid amide is also a derivative, which is mainly used in asphalt additives and mud drilling in oil fields.
The role of tall oleic acid in metalworking fluids is roughly the same as that of oleic acid, and its role can be divided into three main categories, namely emulsifier, rust inhibitor and lubricant.
►Anionic surfactants

Tall oleic acid can react with alkali to synthesize fatty acid soap anionic surfactant, which is the same as tall oil, and can also prepare emulsifiers with different HLB values, and can also be prepared by adjusting the molar ratio of different acids and alcohol amines to prepare anionic soap surfactants with different base values, different rust prevention capabilities, and different water solubility.
►Amide surfactants

In addition to preparing anionic soaps or salt emulsifiers, tall oleic acid can also be used as nonionic emulsifiers for alkanolamide preparations with alkanolamines. In addition to being used as an emulsifier, it can also be used as a rust inhibitor and lubricant.
►Anti-rust additives

When the ratio of raw materials is 1:3, the anti-rust performance of Tall oleic acid diethanolamide is good, and it can be used as a rust inhibitor for metalworking fluids.
►lubricant

When Tall oleate diethanolamide is applied to the micro-emulsified copper wire drawing solution, it shows its good emulsification, lubrication, rust prevention, resistance to hard water and copper soap dispersion properties, which can avoid the phenomenon of copper soap blocking the wire drawing film and solve the problem of shrinkage and wire breakage in the process of copper wire drawing.

Tall oil fatty acid reacts with NaOH to prepare sodium tall oil fatty acid, which is then slowly added to copper sulfate solution to obtain copper tall oleate, and then compounded with ZDDP (zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate), it is found that copper tall oleate has a good synergistic effect with ZDDP, has better wear resistance, and has enhanced bearing capacity.

Tall oil fatty acids, catalysts, and water autogeneous pressure synthesize tall oil dimer acids. It can be widely used in the manufacture of metal cold-rolled oils, surfactants and hot-melt adhesives.

China Distilled Tall Oil (DTO) Manufacturer and Supplier | Baoran Chemical

China Tall Oil Fatty Acid (TOFA) Manufacturer and Supplier | Baoran Chemical