Preparation, Compatibility Studies and Evaluation of Polymer Mixture of Decyl Acrylate and its Copolymer with Styrene as Lubricating Oil Additives

Polydecyl acrylate (PDA) and copolymer of decyl acrylate (DA) with styrene and these polymeric samples were prepared, characterized and evaluated as additives for lubricating oil. Visco metric studies have been conducted on the binary solutions (polymer-solvent) of polydecyl acry late (PDA), copolymer of DA as well as on their ternary solutions (poly mer-poly mer-solvent) having different concentrations of each poly mer at 30°C in ch loroform and toluene. The estimation of the compatib ility degree of the above polymer pairs has been made by means of five criteria. Results show that in most of the cases polymer blends are compatible, except ∆bm data. This is probably due to non-ideal behavior (hydrodynamic interaction) of poly mers in ternary solutions. Data obtained in the solvents are not similar imp ly ing that polymer-poly mer interactions and polymer-solvent interactions are both important for long chain poly mers. Two solvents were chosen based on their ability to dissolve the polymers and, due to their differences in both structure and properties. The evaluation data indicates that compatible polymer mixtures act as much better viscosity index imp rovers (VII) and pour point depressants (PPD) than both the homopolymer and copolymer. With increasing concentration of the copolymer in the blend, there is gradual increase in the additive performance.