What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of diesel oil additive

16 Jun.,2025

 

Pros and Cons of Aftermarket Oil Additives - Machinery Lubrication

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of adding additives to a finished oil product?"

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The question of whether to add additives to finished oil products has been debated for decades. Comprehensive testing has been performed to support claims on both sides.

One truth that has been proven is that if quality high-performance lubricants are selected in the beginning, further additization will provide very little, if any, benefit.

Of course, identifying quality high-performance lubricants can be challenging at times.

Lubricants typically are formulated with a variety of additives and base oil properties that are carefully set in equilibrium. Any slight manipulation in this formulation has the potential to be harmful. Keep in mind that more additive is not always better.

The old saying, “If a little bit of something is good, then more of the same is better,” is not necessarily true when using oil additives.

As more additive is blended into the oil, sometimes no benefit is gained, and at times the performance actually deteriorates. In other cases, the performance of the additive doesn’t improve, but the duration of service improves.

Increasing the percentage of a certain additive may improve one property of an oil while at the same time degrade another. When the specified concentrations of additives become unbalanced, overall oil quality can be affected. Some additives compete with each other for the same space on a metal surface.

If a high concentration of an anti-wear agent is added to the oil, the corrosion inhibitor may become less effective. The result may be an increase in corrosion-related problems.

Oil companies already spend millions of dollars perfecting the requirements for their product varieties. Users should spend less time trying to decide how to effectively blend their own further-additized product and focus more on selecting a lubricant that is already on the market to meet the intended goal.

While some used or in-service lubricants have had success with additization, especially in large volumes, in general this should be handled by those who are experienced with lubricant blending and only after extensive testing of the resultant lubricant.

Remember, there is a lot of chemistry occurring in most of the oils that are used to lubricate equipment. They are complicated mixtures of chemicals that are in balance with one another and need to be respected. It is for these reasons that the mixing of different oils and adding additional additives should be avoided.

Diesel Additives for Automotive Manufacturers: Boosting Fuel ...

Businesses that depend on moving heavy things choose diesel engines for features like fuel efficiency and torque. Diesel engines excel in heavy-duty applications like pulling, towing, and transporting heavy cargo. They can maintain consistent speeds regardless of terrain and with less engine strain, extending their lifespans.  

All fuel types have different advantages and disadvantages. Diesel tends to thicken in cold climates, increasing viscosity levels. Refining can reduce oil’s natural lubrication levels and introduce engine-damaging contaminants into the finished product. Thankfully, researchers are constantly working on new diesel additives to address these limitations and improve performance.

What is a Diesel Additive?

Diesel additives are substances added to diesel fuel to improve different aspects, like performance and efficiency. Additives remove contaminants and reduce moisture accumulation for increased engine life. Different types of additives can offer many benefits, including:

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  • Improved fuel efficiency.
  • Extended engine life.
  • Prevented corrosion.
  • Reduced deposits.
  • Enhanced water separation.
  • Preventing cold-weather gelling.

Some of the most common additive types include cetane, lubricity, cleaning, and cold-flow improvers. Allegheny Petroleum’s range of diesel additives reflects its 35 years in the industry. 

Cetane Additives

Cetane values fulfill the same role as octane numbers in gasoline and indicate the quality of the diesel. Higher cetane numbers indicate better fuel efficiency. Cetane improvers extend the fuel burn to consume the entire fuel molecule for more efficient combustion. Because refining reduces cetane properties, introducing an additive into the fuel can help compensate for this loss, improving performance and miles per gallon (MPG).

Diesel engines use compression rather than spark plugs to ignite fuel. Cetane additives introduce organic nitrates into the fuel for faster and more efficient ignition.

Cold Flow or Anti-Gel Additives

Diesel fuel contains paraffin wax, which solidifies at lower temperatures. Some specialized winter diesel formulations include elements to reduce the cold filter plugging point (CFPP). Still, even winterized blends may cause some solidification in extremely low temperatures.

A fuel’s cold filter plugging point (CFPP) is the temperature at which it thickens, forms wax crystals, and blocks the fuel filter. Reducing the CFPP means lowering the threshold at which the fuel turns into a gel. Levels of additives are calculated based on seasonal averages for particular regions of the world, resulting in winterized blends that can prevent solidification due to temperature drops.

Lubricating Additives 

The United States has emission standards that require removing as much sulfur as possible from diesel fuel. Unfortunately, eliminating sulfur reduces the fuel’s lubrication properties. Insufficient lubrication causes fuel systems to experience higher levels of wear and tear on pumps and injectors. 

Additives can increase lubrication properties, reducing friction and extending the life of fuel systems. Uneven wear can produce irregular surfaces that fail to seal correctly, creating leaks that damage fuel systems.

Detergent Additives 

Detergent additives prevent deposit buildups on fuel injectors. High pressures and temperatures cause fuel to break down, producing carbon and other residues. These deposits restrict fuel flow and reduce injector performance. Detergent additives help clear combustion chambers for improved efficiency while limiting the carbon particle buildup known to block filters.

Internal diesel injector deposits (IDIDs) are gooey substances that accumulate inside injector tips, restricting performance. Since generalized additives may not be as effective at removing carbon and other deposits, experts recommend using IDID-specific cleaners to clear injector buildup. Allegheny Petroleum offers detergents and dispersants that protect engines and mitigate environmental harm.

Water Demulsifier

Diesel fuel attracts moisture that degrades performance and corrodes fuel systems over time. Diesel engines are equipped with water separators to reduce the presence of water in the fuel. Water demulsifiers are used to decrease the moisture content in the fuel further, directing it to the mechanical water separation unit. This process helps minimize corrosion and enhances engine performance.

Why Use Diesel Additives?

Diesel additives improve engine performance and reduce the wear and tear on a fuel system. They can lower CFPP to ensure operations in frigid conditions and minimize deposit buildup. Recent studies found that diesel additives:

  • Improve fuel economy by an average of 6%.
  • Reduce injector deposits significantly.
  • Reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. 

Improved fuel efficiency and less wear and tear mean fewer maintenance cycles. 

Additives remove deposits and maximize burn to lower fuel emissions. They help reduce particulates for cleaner air. Enhancements to cold-flow improvers allow diesel fuel to operate at lower temperatures with less chance of gelling. Diesel additives improve performance and play a crucial role in extending the life of your engine, ensuring a long-lasting and reliable investment.

Looking Ahead: the Ongoing Evolution of Diesel Engine Additives

Over time, the modern diesel engine has improved in various ways. Engineers evaluate performance data to fine-tune their designs, while chemists produce new diesel additives that keep pace with these engine enhancements. That’s one reason the global fuel additives market is projected to reach $15.30 billion by .  Ongoing and upcoming regulations mandating the removal of deposits and lowering emissions will drive suppliers to formulate additives that can compensate for any performance or fuel efficiency loss due to these changes. This continuous innovation in the field of diesel additives gives us hope for a more efficient and environmentally friendly future.

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