Environmentally friendly grease composition

Abstract

An environmentally friendly grease composition is provided comprising (a) a vegetable oil and (b) a cellulose fiber. The grease may further comprise glycerin; a rust inhibitor; and/or a fatty acid ester, lecithin, phosphatidyl choline, or a combination thereof.

1 . A grease composition comprising (a) a vegetable oil and (b) a cellulose fiber.  
     
     
         2 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , wherein the vegetable oil is present in an amount of from about 60 weight % to about 90 weight %, and the cellulose fiber is present in an amount of from about 2 weight % to about 15 weight %.  
     
     
         3 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , further comprising glycerin.  
     
     
         4 . The grease composition of  claim 3 , wherein the glycerin is present in an amount up to about 12 weight %.  
     
     
         5 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , further comprising a fatty acid ester, lecithin, phosphatidyl choline, or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         6 . The grease composition of  claim 5 , wherein the fatty acid ester, lecithin, phosphatidyl choline, or combination thereof is present in an amount of from about 2 weight % to about 20 weight %.  
     
     
         7 . The grease composition of  claim 6 , wherein the fatty acid ester is sorbitan mono-oleate.  
     
     
         8 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , further comprising a rust inhibitor.  
     
     
         9 . The grease composition of  claim 8 , wherein the rust inhibitor is present in an amount up to about 0.5 weight %.  
     
     
         10 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , further comprising an extreme pressure additive.  
     
     
         11 . The grease composition of  claim 10 , wherein the extreme pressure additive comprising sulfur is present in an amount of from about 0.1 weight % to about 2 weight %.  
     
     
         12 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , wherein the vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of canola, soy, linseed, tung, corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut, palm, palm kernel, coconut, and camelina oils.  
     
     
         13 . The grease composition of  claim 12 , wherein the vegetable oil is canola oil.  
     
     
         14 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cellulose is derived from wood pulp, cotton, kenaf, flax, or a mixture thereof.  
     
     
         15 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , wherein the vegetable oil has a viscosity of from about 35 cSt at 40° C. to about 44 cSt at 40° C.  
     
     
         16 . The grease composition of  claim 1 , wherein the grease has a viscosity of from about 450 cSt at 40° C. to about 470 cSt at 40° C.  
     
     
         17 . A grease composition comprising canola oil, cellulose fiber, sorbitan mono-oleaste, glycerin, and a rust inhibitor.  
     
     
         18 . The grease composition of  claim 17 , wherein the canola oil is present in an amount of from about 70 weight % to about 80 weight %, the cellulose fiber is present in an amount of from about 5 weight % to about 10 weight %, the sorbitan mono-oleate is present in an amount of from about 7 weight % to about 13 weight %, the glycerin is present in an amount of from about 5 weight % to about 10 weight %, and the rust inhibitor is present in an amount of from about 0.1 weight % to about 0.3 weight %.