Additives

Additive compounds are added to lubricants and coolants to provide new and desirable properties not originally present in the base oil or coolant. Some of the most common additives are oxidation inhibitors, alkaline buffering agents to increase total base number, corrosion inhibitors, detergents, dispersants, anti-wear agents, viscosity index (VI) improvers, pour point depressants, emulsifiers and anti-foaming agents.

Additives are complex compounds and spectrometric oil analysis only measures their elemental presence and at what concentration. The most common additive elements measured in oil by spectrometric methods such as is provided by the Spectroil M [link to Spectroil M.html] are barium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc and in coolants, potassium, silicon, boron, sodium, molybdenum and phosphorus.

Even though the Spectroil quantifies the elemental content in lubricants and coolants, the Spectroil M cannot identify the molecular compound associated with a given element. When an additive compound degrades the elements from the original compound remain in the lubricant or coolant, but the compound itself may have changed and become ineffective. Additive depletion is a physical property and infrared analysis instruments such as the Spectro FTIR are usually applied to detect and quantify specific molecular compounds.

Applicable Spectro Products:

• Spectroil M, Oil and Fuel Analysis Spectrometer
• Fluid Scan, Handheld Lubricant Condition Monitor
• Spectro FTIR, oil Analyzer
• Turnkey Laboratory, Spectro Industrial Tribology Laboratory