Fernández Silva, Samuel DavidDelgado Canto, Miguel ÁngelRuíz Méndez, María VictoriaGiráldez Díaz, InmaculadaGarcía Morales, Moisés2026-02-032026-02-032026Fernández-Silva, S. D., Delgado, M. A., Ruiz-Méndez, M. V., Giráldez, I., & García-Morales, M. (2022). Potential valorization of waste cooking oils into sustainable bio-lubricants. Industrial Crops and Products, 185, 115109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2022.115109. [Dataset]. AM (Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Huelva). https://hdl.handle.net/10272/21142https://hdl.handle.net/10272/27856Project "Smart biolubricants with electro‑responsive capability based on lignocellulosic nanoparticles", (UHU‐1255843), funded by Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucia 2014‐2020, call 2018; and project "“Advances in friction and wear control under electric‑field activation using electro‑responsive and sustainable lubricants", (UHU‐202008), funded by Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucia 2014‐2020, call 2020. They were led from the University of Huelva, and mainly developed at Center for Research in Chemical Products and Process Technology (Pro2TecS). These projects aimed to develop sustainable, electro‑responsive biolubricants from fresh vegetable oil (or fractions of used oils) combined with lignocellulosic nanoparticles or nanoclays, optimizing their dispersion and stability. They examined how electric fields modify their rheological and tribological behavior, and investigated the surface mechanisms governing friction and wear through electrochemical and spectroscopic analysis. The influence of particle chemistry, morphology, concentration, sliding speed, load, and temperature were assessed, using multivariate analysis to relate formulation variables to electro‑tribological performance. Methodology Five waste cooking oils from different food facilities were collected, filtered, and dehydrated before analysis. The oils were fractionated into light and heavy cuts using short‑path molecular distillation under very low pressure. Comprehensive chemical characterization was performed, including fatty‑acid profiling, polar‑compound analysis, FTIR, thermogravimetry, oxidation‑onset temperature, viscosity, and density measurements. Low‑temperature flow behavior was assessed through temperature‑dependent rheology. Finally, friction and wear tests were conducted using a ball‑on‑three‑plates tribology setup, with wear scars examined microscopically to ensure statistically robust results. More info: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2022.115109This work explores the feasibility of using waste cooking oils (WCO) as eco-lubricants. Five WCO from different food facilities were studied. Three of them were fractionated into both lighter and heavier fractions by molecular distillation. A comprehensive chemical characterization (fatty acids distribution, polar compounds and acidity) was carried out on all WCOs and their fractions, which led to set relationships with the oils’ properties (such as viscosity index, low temperature viscous flow behavior, oxidation resistance, etc.). It is worth mentioning the high viscosity index values found in waste cooking oils with both low total polar compounds and acidity level, as well as the benefit which acidity had on their fluidity at low temperature and their lubricity. Moreover, it was also noteworthy that the lighter fractions, merely constituted by free fatty acids (FFA), presented an improved oxidative resistance. The largest OOT enhancement, 12.4%, was found for the light fraction of a non-segregated oil. Moreover, a better thermal stability was shown by the heavier fractions. Finally, both fractions exhibited enhanced friction-reducing capability as compared to their parent WCO. The light fractions from a nonsegregated oil, a fast food restaurant oil and a deep-fried food establishment oil yielded wear reductions of 11.7%, 44.3% and 36.8%, respectively. Therefore, molecular distillation has been proved to be a key strategy to obtain more efficient liquid eco-lubricants.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Waste cooking oilValorizationMolecular distillationEco‐lubricantsVegetable oilFrictiondataset10.33776/ariasmontano.2785610.1016/j.indcrop.2022.115109open access33 Ciencias Tecnológicas