Virgin and recycled engine oil differentiation: a spectroscopic study

As a result of the changes that occur during their use, used engine oils tend to differ in chemical and physical composition from a virgin oil. In general recycled oils have: much higher water and sediment levels than virgin oil; relatively higher concentrations of organic compounds (oxidation products); and relatively higher levels of metals such as Fe, Cd, Cr, Pb, etc. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate, assess and to observe, by means of the physical and the chemical properties of the oils, atomic absorption (AA), inductive couple plasma (ICP) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses the extent of the differences occurring between the virgin and recycled oil. In important part of this work was also the development of analytical techniques based on the use of FTIR spectroscopy; in relation to the rapid analysis of lubricants; in particular for the differentiation of virgin and recycled oil. The results obtained were expected to be useful for differentiation purposes, providing information on whether the metal concentrations and oxidation products could be an appropriate feature for differentiating a particular oil sample from the others. This work is categorized into a two-step procedure. Firstly, an evaluation of a typical FTIR spectrum of an engine oil sample (mono- and multigrade) is presented. The broad feature centered at 1716 cm(-1) is due to the presence of carbonyl containing degradation products of oil. A band observed at 1732, 1169, 1154 and 1270 cm(-1) assigned to the polymethacrylate stretching vibrations, allows the determination of viscosity modifier and pour point depressant additives. The observed differences in the specific spectral bands (1732, 1169, 1154 and 1270 and 1716 cm(-1)) are investigated and discussed. Secondly, an analytical technique for the measurement of the levels of the wear metals is also applied.