Correlating viscosity of 2-ethylhexyl oleic estolide esters to their molecular weight

Estolides are a relatively new class of biobased materials, and their properties not thoroughly investigated. Since they have been recently commercialized as lubricants, deeper investigation viscosity was warranted. Five 3-parameter models with theoretical derivations were found in the literature. Additionally, several empirical 2- models, including one 4-parameter model, used to describe lipids, selected for investigation. These fit experimental 13 oleic estolide ester samples. The measured at six temperatures between 20 100 °C. jackknife procedure estimate uncertainty fitted parameters. For theory-based correlations derived coefficients molecular weight sample. results allowed simple prediction esters function temperature, based only on number-average (or number). best model required additional knowledge weight-average weight.