Butyl Stearate

About This Product

Butyl stearate is stearic acid esterified with n-butanol. It is a clear, pale, low-viscosity liquid at room temperature with a low pour point and a faint fatty odour. Its usefulness across so many industries comes from being an almost purely aliphatic ester: a long saturated chain with a single ester link and no polar head worth speaking of. That gives good lubricity and compatibility with hydrocarbons and with most polymers, and very little interaction with water. In rigid and plasticised PVC it works as an internal lubricant, reducing melt viscosity and frictional heat between polymer chains and improving flow without the plate-out risks of a strongly external lubricant. In rubber and polyolefin compounds it acts as a secondary plasticiser and processing aid. In metalworking fluids it provides boundary lubrication and improves wetting. Its low surface tension and poor water solubility make it an effective defoamer in aqueous systems, and its film-forming, water-repellent character puts it into polishes, mould releases and moisture-proofing treatments. It also appears in cosmetics as an emollient, although branched esters have largely taken that role where a dry feel is wanted. It is used as an internal lubricant in PVC processing, as a plasticiser and processing aid in rubber and polyolefins, in metalworking fluids and mould releases, as a defoamer in aqueous systems, and in polishes and moisture-proofing treatments. Bio Green Chem supplies butyl stearate to specification on ester content, acid value, colour, pour point and moisture, in 180 kg or 900 kg drums.