Thursday, December 13, 2018

Useful Information Regarding Fuel Additives

By Betty Myers


The chemical compounds included into base oils with the aim of enhancing how the lubricant performs are called oil additives. The phrase oil base is usually used in reference to base stock. There exist a number of manufactures that produce these commodities. Mostly, the manufacturers utilize a common base stock. The difference is the additives they include in them with respect to specific use the commodity is supposed to be utilized for. This is what Fuel additives are all about.

As such, manufacturers normally vary the formulation of the additives which they add to their oils so as to produce a wide range of products for various uses. Normally, 5 percent of the total weight of some oils is as a result of the added additives. All oils regardless if they are petroleum or synthetic have specific additives of some sort.

Modern internal combustion engines need oils that are incorporated with additive. These oils are important because they provide proper lubrication and they prolong the life span of the engine. If the oils did not contain the stabilizers, they would experience several problems that include breaking down, getting contaminated, and leaking out. In addition to that, they would not be capable of providing proper protection to engines at all operating temperatures.

The oils are not only used in engines but other parts like automatic transmissions, bearings, gearboxes, and clutches. There are many different types of stabilizers and each performs a different function. For example, there are additive products meant for lubrication and providing viscosity as well as seal conditioning. Others are designed for controlling chemical breakdown and contaminants.

Some of the stabilizers are added to allow lubricants to offer better performance under severe conditions. Such conditions include high levels of contamination, extreme temperatures, and extreme pressures. Thus, one should understand what every kind of oil does before they buy. Using the wrong kind of oil for the wrong purpose may lead to serious problems in the engine or whatever part is being lubricated.

Additives that are used in controlling chemical breakdown were first developed in 1930s. They are used in neutralizing and cleaning engine impurities. Failure to add these additives would allow impurities form deposits on key engine parts. Some of these types of stabilizers include magnesium sulphonates. Other additive commodities serve the purpose of inhibiting metal components from undergoing oxidation in an engine.

Antioxidants are another group of additive products. Antioxidants work by slowing down the degradation of oil stock resulting from oxidation. Organic amines and phenols are the major examples of antioxidants. Next on the list of additive products are metal deactivators which ensure that oils are not oxidized by preventing the process. They do this by covering metallic surfaces in a film. It is the film that prevents oxidation of the oils by metal.

Also, bases are valuable additives. They are utilized in the prevention of chemical disintegration of the base stock oils in acidic environments. For this reason, they lower the total acid number in oils. There exist a number of types of these bases that can be employed for this application. In addition, several other bases are being invented because of the existence of better technology.




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