Specialty chemicals company Lanxess has added Baynox Extra, a highly concentrated liquid stabilizer for biodiesel, to its range. The easy-to-meter additive effectively prolongs the shelf life of biodiesel, even when it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids. This combination of the two established antioxidants Baynox and Baynox Plus has an active ingredient content of 50 percent. Baynox Extra is added in a concentration of 200 to 500 ppm to biodiesel. As the stabilizer does not crystallize, it can be reliably used at temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius, meaning the antioxidant tank does not need to be heated.

The highly concentrated antioxidant Baynox Extra ensures that the biofuel obtained from natural raw material remains stable and can be used for longer. Otherwise, the fuel's unsaturated fatty acid structures can easily oxidize in contact with atmospheric oxygen. Heat, light and pressure make the oil rancid within a short time. The consequences of such oxidation are a degradation of the biodiesel into short-chained fatty acids and the formation of insoluble polymers (gums), causing damage to the engine and the injection system. Lanxess’ Baynox range is continually being adapted to the rapid developments in the automotive industry and includes increasingly high-performance products. The pressures in diesel engines are continually rising, as are the injector temperatures. On the other hand, tolerances for manufacturers of biodiesel are getting smaller and smaller and the specifications ever narrower. “With Baynox Extra our customers will be ideally equipped in the future too to meet the demands that the automotive industry make of modern fuels,” says Wolfgang Podestà, Business Manager for Baynox at Lanxess Distribution GmbH.