Pour point depressant
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Pour point depressants are used to allow the use of petroleum based mineral oils at lower temperatures. The lowest temperature at which a fuel or oil will pour is called a pour point. Wax crystals, which form at lower temperatures, may interfere with lubrication of mechanical equipment. High-quality pour point depressants can lower a pour point of an oil additive by as much as 40°C. [1]
Pour point depressants do not lower the temperature at which wax crystals begin to form, called the cloud point, or the amount of wax that is formed—pour point depressants work by altering the crystal shape and size, which inhibits lateral crystal growth. There are two known methods by which this may be achieved: surface adsorption and co-crystallization.[1]