Scientists performed an experiment to analyze the effect of catalysis pyrolysis of
castor seed on the yield of oil. Catalytic pyrolysis was carried out at 400°C for different ratios of catalyst to biomass using zeolite as catalyst.
Results showed that compared to thermal pyrolysis of castor seed, catalytic pyrolysis decreased the yield of oil and that the bio oil contained compounds with carbon chain length in the range of C4-C24 that is similar to most of the fuels used.
Researchers from China performed an experiment to prepare a novel zwitterionic surfactant from castor oil. The novel zwitterionic surfactant was prepared u
sing a high yield route and its performance for oil recovery was analyzed.
Experimental results showed that the biobased surfactant exhibited strong electrolyte tolerance, temperature resistance, and thermo stability, better wetting and foaming performance, which implies that biobased surfactants could be of great potential to replace traditional petroleum based surfactants.
Scientists from Turkey conducted a study to investigate a new type of bifunctional 
monomer obtained from castor oil. Castor oil was first reacted with acryloyl chloride to obtain acrylated castor oil. Epoxidized acrylated castor oil obtained after epoxidation reaction was characterized using various techniques.
After characterization, homo and block copolymers were synthesized and evaluated. It was observed that epoxidized acrylated castor oil copolymer showed higher storage modulus and higher thermal stability.
Researchers from Nigeria performed an experiment to 
analyze the effect of castor oil as an auxiliary stabilizer in the production of polyurethane foams. Castor oil was used as a substitute to silicone oil at different percentages.
The results showed that castor oil could be a best partial substitute for silicone oil at higher densities.
Scientists from China conducted an experiment to investigate the influence of ionic liquid [HMIM]BF4 as an additive on the tribologicaal properties of castor oil. The experiment was done by using a four-ball friction test rig.
The results showed that a small amount of ionic liquid can postpone the peak coefficient of friction and decrease the wear behaviour. In addition, the chemical adsorption of castor oil and ionic liquid on a steel surface is more significant than physical adsorption. Thus, the study could be of great importance to understand the potential engineering application of castor oil.
Scientists from China conducted an experiment to synthesize bio-castor oil polyurethane flexible foams and study the influence of biotic component on their performance. A series of biobased polyurethane foams were synthesized by substituting polyether polyol with castor oil and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The influence of castor oil component on the structure and physical properties of polyurethane foams were studied.
Results showed that the Young’s modulus and compression resilience improved with increased content of castor oil. They also exhibited lower water absorption and higher contact angle with increase in content of castor oil.
Researchers from India performed an experiment to study interfacial tension and contact angle of synthesized surfactant and polymeric from castor oil. The polymeric surfactant was synthesized from pre-synthesized sodium methyl ester sulfonate (surfactant) and acrylamide for application in chemical enhanced oil recovery.
The synthesized surfactant and polymeric surfactant were used to measure interfacial tension between their aqueous phase and crude oil phase. Contact angles of solid-crude oil-surfactant interface were also measured. Results showed that interfacial tension was lower which is effective for oil recovery.
Scientists from India performed an experiment to optimize the synthesis of biolubricant basestock from high free fatty acid castor oil via epoxidation reaction. Influence of various process parameters was optimized. Central composite design (CCD) was used to evaluate the effects of process variables on maximum oxirane oxygen content (OOC).
From the response surface methodology study, it could be concluded that low FFA CO could act as a suitable feedstock for lubricant synthesis with improved physico-chemical properties.
Scientists from Malaysia performed an experiment to determine the solubility of castor oil by using supercritical carbon dioxide as extracting solvent. A simple dynamic technique was used to obtain the solubility of castor oil in super critical carbon dioxide. Five semi-empirical models were tested for their ability to correlate the experimental data.
Results showed that the test models used correlated the castor oil solubility data with the lowest average absolute relative deviation percentage (AARD %).
Researchers from Japan performed an experiment to analyze the change in characteristics of PLLA by introducing a biobased branched polymer bearing castor oil core as a nucleating agent. The Biobased polymer bearing castor oi
l core was synthesized. The nucleating effect of the branched polymer on the crystallization of PLLA was analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry and a polarized optical microscopy.
Results showed that by the addition of the branched polymer, the spherulite size of PLLA became smaller and the strain at break of PLLA containing the branched polymer was improved.