Process for the preparation of lubricants

An improved process for the preparation of lubricants-comprising:

• a) dissolving a vegetative oil or fat in an alcohol,
• b) mixing the above said solution obtained in step(a) with a double metal cyanide catalyst that remains insoluble in the obtained mixture, followed by stifling, at a temperature in the range of 150° to 200° C., for a period of 3-6 hrs,
• c) cooling the above said reaction mixture to a temperature of about 25° C.,
• d) separating the catalyst from the above said reaction mixture
• e) removing the unreacted alcohol by distillation;
• and
• f) separation of glycerol by-products by adding petroleum ether and methanol to obtain the desired esterified product.
• wherein the conversion of oil to lubricant is in the range of 90.0-96.0 mol %.