BPC-48 is the benzyl pyridinium 3-carboxylate grade Fengfan supplies for alkaline zinc plating, listed under CAS 15990-43-9. It arrives as a brownish yellow to reddish brown liquid with an active content of at least 48%, formulated to be metered straight into a working bath rather than weighed out as a solid and dissolved.
In the tank its job is narrow. It works as the top brightener and leveling agent: the basic brightener builds the deposit, and this surface active agent takes that grain and turns it into a fully bright, smooth surface. Additions sit in a milligram-per-litre window, so the drum is dosed in small volumes and lasts through a long production run.
Two kinds of buyer work from the same drum. A formulating company buys it as an intermediate and builds its own top-brightener package around it; a zinc nickel plating company or a general galvanizing shop buys it as a ready additive to top up a line that is already running. Both are managing a metal plating process in which the last few milligrams per litre usually decide whether the deposit reads bright or slightly hazy.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Grade | BPC-48 |
| Chemical name | Benzyl pyridinium 3-carboxylate |
| CAS number | 15990-43-9 |
| Molecular formula | C13H11NO2 |
| Molecular weight | 213.2 |
| Chemical type | Pyridinium carboxylate |
| Physical form | Brownish yellow to reddish brown liquid |
| Concentration (%) | ≥48.0 |
| pH | 6.0-9.0 |
| Water solubility | Readily soluble in water |
| Typical use | Top brightener for metal plating in alkaline zinc baths |
| Typical addition in an alkaline zinc bath | 10-100 mg/L |
| Standard pack | 25 kg drum |
Alkaline zinc work covers a wide spread of parts, and the same top brightener handles most of it. General hardware is the classic case — brackets, fasteners, tube frames and castings are racked, plated, then chromated, and the brightness built during the plating process decides how the passivation film reads afterwards.
Job shops that run several product families on one line use it to keep the top-brightener response consistent across them — a little more for parts with deep recesses, a little less for flat sheet that has nowhere to hide — so metal plating stays predictable from one family to the next.
Conversions are the third group. Lines that have moved off cyanide onto an alkaline process, and a zinc nickel plating company that alternates between plain zinc and alloy work through the week, both stay on the same product in the same role, which keeps one drum and one dosing routine for the whole floor.
The product ships in 25 kg drums, sealed for transport; the drum then doubles as the dosing container on site.
Store it in a cool, dry place with the bung closed and the drum upright. A liquid brightener left open takes up moisture and workshop dust, and that helps neither the next addition nor the plating process it feeds. Keep drums on a pallet rather than straight on the floor, out of direct sun, and avoid wide temperature swings — a cold drum thickens and meters more slowly.
Work the stock in rotation, oldest first, and write the batch number on the drum as soon as it goes into service. When a drum runs out, drain and rinse the dosing line with water and keep the rinse out of the drain.
If a drum has been standing for a long time, roll or stir it before use so the contents are uniform, and check the batch date against your own records before the first addition.
| Minimum order quantity | Varies by chemical; confirmed with our sales team per order |
| Lead time | 2 weeks |
| Payment | 100% T/T in advance |
| Packing | 10 kg/box; 25 kg or 50 kg/bag; 20 kg/25 kg/30 kg/200 kg/drum; 1000 kg/IBC drum |
| Shipping | Per the terms agreed in the current contract |
| Documents | Inspection certificate issued after delivery stating the batch number and warranty period |
| Sample | Ask your sales contact about sample availability |
Choosing the right match is where most sourcing decisions stall. As a trading supplier, we keep one point of contact from first enquiry to after-sales: tell us what you are making and the conditions you work under, and we shortlist the closest matches from our supplier network, compare specifications and arrange samples before you commit to a bulk order. If something does not behave as expected, we work with the supplying partner on the cause and a practical fix, and stay with the case until it is settled. Email, WeChat or WhatsApp enquiries get a reply within 24 hours.
It is a top brightener and leveling agent. It is added on top of a basic brightener such as IZE — the basic brightener builds the deposit and carries the throwing power, and this product brightens and levels what has been built.
Yes. It is used as an alkaline zinc top brightener, and cyanide-free alkaline processes use it in the same role as conventional baths. When you convert an existing bath, confirm the make-up and top-up ratios with our technical team before the first addition.
Start at the bottom of the recommended window given in the parameter table, plate a Hull cell panel, and only then go higher. The right figure depends on bath volume, part geometry and how the basic brightener is currently running, so the panel rather than the calculation decides the next increment.
Alkaline zinc alloy baths use it in the same top-brightener role as plain zinc. Tell us the alloy ratio and the basic brightener you run, and we will confirm a starting point for your bath.
Run a Hull cell panel with the new lot under the same conditions as the previous one and compare the bright range at the same current density. If the two panels differ, stop and talk to us before adjusting the bath further — changing the bath to compensate for a suspect drum makes the problem harder to trace.
Yes. It is a bath additive, so barrel and rack lines both use it through normal dosing; barrel work simply needs the basic brightener watched a little more closely, because current density varies across the load.
