Volume 48, No 1, 2026, Pages 83-93
Download full text in PDFThe Influence of Waste Palm Oil Cooling Media on the Pack Carburizing Quenching Process of ASTM A36 Steel
Authors:
Sujita Sujita 
,
Ahmad Zainuri ,
Pandri Pandiatmi
DOI: 10.24874/ti.2052.10.25.12
Received: 21 October 2025
Revised: 21 November 2025
Accepted: 16 December 2025
Published: 15 March 2026
Abstract:
This study investigates how four cooling media SAE 40 oil, palm oil, waste palm oil and water affect the surface hardness and impact toughness of pack carburizing quenching ASTM A36 steel. While conventional quenching practices rely on petroleum based oils or water, the use of waste palm oil as an alternative cooling medium has not been widely investigated. The carburizing media is a mixture of charcoal powder and BaCO3 as energizer. It was conducted at 900 °C with a soaking time for 2-6 h, followed by quenching in each cooling media. The results indicate that both hardness and toughness are strongly dependent on the cooling media. Water produced the highest hardness, reaching up to 616 HV at 6 h, but caused a substantial reduction in impact toughness approximately 60% lower than the oil based cooling media. Waste palm oil generated slightly lower hardness yet provided a more desirable hardness and toughness balance due to its more moderate cooling rate. Palm oil yielded intermediate hardness and toughness, while SAE 40 oil resulted in the lowest hardness but the highest toughness. Significantly, waste palm oil produced a balanced hardening response, offering higher toughness than water and a stronger hardening effect than palm oil and SAE 40 oil, suggesting its potential as a sustainable, technically advantageous option. This work is novel in establishing waste palm oil as a viable, eco friendly cooling media that can improve the functional reliability of pack carburizing quenching ASTM A36 steel components.
Keywords:
ASTM A36 steel, Pack carburizing quenching, Cooling media, Waste palm olie, Surface hardness, Impact toughness
