20 January 2015, 00:00
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is adding the highly concentrated additives Baynox Ultra and Baynox Cargo to its range for stabilizing biodiesel fuels. The new products will be unveiled in Europe at the international “Fuels of the Future” trade conference taking place in Berlin on January 19 and 20, 2015.
Baynox Ultra is a highly active liquid stabilizer specially designed for biodiesel made from polyunsaturated fatty acids such as soybean and sunflower methyl esters. This easily metered additive contains a balanced blend of highly active antioxidants and a chelator, dissolved in a “green” solvent. Thanks to the high active ingredient content of over 40 percent, 200 to 500 ppm of Baynox Ultra is generally sufficient to ensure a reliable shelf life for biodiesel. As the product also remains liquid at -5 °C, storage tanks and pipes do not need to be heated in winter.
Baynox Cargo has been specially designed to stabilize biodiesel tanks in ships and ports. The product contains over 35 percent of the established antioxidant Baynox in an organic solvent. It has a flash point of over 60 °C and also remains liquid down to -5 °C. Baynox Cargo’s comparatively low viscosity makes it easy and reliable to use.
Equipped for the future
The highly concentrated liquid antioxidants Baynox Ultra and Baynox Cargo enable effective and long-term stabilization of biofuels made from natural raw materials. In contact with atmospheric oxygen, the unsaturated fatty acid derivatives these contain can easily oxidize, and light, heat and pressure make biofuels rancid within a short time, leading to short-chained fatty acids and insoluble polymers in the biodiesel. These may damage engine and injection systems and in extreme cases cause the drive system to break down. What is more, the pressures and injector temperatures in diesel engines are continually rising, while tolerances are getting smaller and smaller and specifications ever narrower. In response to the rapid development of the automotive industry, the LANXESS range includes increasingly reliable, high-performance products. “Baynox Ultra from LANXESS is a product for the biodiesel industry that even at low doses enables exceptional stabilization of particularly oxidation-sensitive biodiesel fuels,” says Ralf Bogan, Product Manager Baynox at LANXESS Distribution GmbH.
Studies by Wood-Mackenzie (June 2014) and Hart Energy (November 2014) predict steady demand in Europe, currently the largest biodiesel market, while significant growth is forecast for Asia and America in the next 10 years. This is being driven by various legal regulations in the different regions such as the introduction of greenhouse gas limits and an increase in the proportion of biogenic substances in diesel fuels. “LANXESS is responding to these changes with new, highly active Baynox products that can be used in particular for oxidation-sensitive oils such as soybean and sunflower oils. Biodiesel made of waste fat, whose composition may vary greatly depending on its origin, can thus also be effectively stabilized and made suitable for storage,” says Bogan.