As a petroleum-based process oil, paraffin oil is widely used as a plasticizer for ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM). However, petroleum is non-renewable and facing depletion. Coconut oil is an environmentally friendly, relatively low-cost, renewable, and natural bio-based oil. Therefore, in this study, the feasibility of replacing paraffin oil with coconut oil as a plasticizer for rubber production was investigated. Different proportions of coconut oil and paraffin oil were used as plasticizers in EPDM blends. The curing characteristics, physical properties, rheological properties, thermal stability, and dynamic mechanical responses of the EPDM blends were evaluated. Experimental results revealed that coconut oil has a better plasticizing effect and can improve the processing safety of rubber blends; the mechanical properties and thermal stability were slightly reduced but were in the processable range of rubber. Furthermore, when coconut oil was added at no more than 15 phr (parts per hundred rubber), there was no risk of blooming in the EPDM blends. Therefore, coconut oil has great potential to replace petroleum-based process oils used in various rubber fields as green bio-based process oils.

中文翻译：

---

生物衍生椰子油作为乙丙二烯单体增塑剂的实用性


作为一种石油基工艺油，石蜡油被广泛用作三元乙丙橡胶 （EPDM） 的增塑剂。然而，石油是不可再生的，并且面临枯竭。椰子油是一种环保、成本相对低、可再生的天然生物基油。因此，在本研究中，研究了用椰子油代替石蜡油作为橡胶生产增塑剂的可行性。在 EPDM 混合物中，不同比例的椰子油和石蜡油用作增塑剂。评估了 EPDM 共混物的固化特性、物理性能、流变特性、热稳定性和动态机械响应。实验结果表明，椰子油具有较好的塑化效果，可以提高橡胶共混物的加工安全性;机械性能和热稳定性略有降低，但在橡胶的可加工范围内。此外，当椰子油的添加量不超过 15 phr（橡胶百分之一）时，EPDM 混合物中没有起霜的风险。因此，椰子油具有巨大的潜力，可以取代各种橡胶领域使用的石油基加工油，成为绿色生物基加工油。