Biodegradability and toxicity of polyalphaolefin base stocks

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Abstract
Low viscosity polyalphaolefin fluids (2 and 4 cSt ® 100°C) are significantly biodegraded under the conditions of the CEC‐L‐33‐T‐82 test procedure. This is contrary to the widespread, but inaccurate, perception that polyalphaolefin (PAO)fluids are generally not biodegradable. In a time‐extended CEC‐L‐33‐T‐82 test, the 2, 4, and 8 cSt fluids were shown to continue biodegrading well past the 21 ‐day span prescribed in the standard method. PAO fluids are considered non‐toxic and non‐irritating to mammals. Moreover, they are not expected to be toxic to aquatic organisms: in the Microtox® test with bioluminescent bacteria, no observable effects were detected for concentrations of 49,500 ppm of the water‐soluble fraction.