US Patent RE42313 Chemically modified vegetable oil-based industrial fluid

Triglyceride oils having unsaturated fatty acid substituents are modified to convert sites of unsaturation to C-2 to C-10 diesters. The resulting derivatives are characterized by thermal and oxidative stability, have low temperature performance properties and are environmentally-friendly. They have utility as hydraulic fluids, lubricants, metal working fluids and other industrial fluids. The triglyceride oils are most easily prepared via epoxidized vegetable oils which are converted to the diesters in either a one- or two-step reaction.