Determination of Trace Amount of Ethylene Glycol in Used Engine Oil by GC-FID based on ASTM D4291-04

User Benefits

・This GC-FID method is used for the quantitative determination of trace levels of ethylene glycol in used engine oil. ・This method uses simple instrumentation with minimal chemicals to quantify trace levels of ethylene glycol from used engine oils as per ASTM D4291-04 guidelines with minor modifications.

Introduction

Ethylene glycol or Ethane-1,2-diol in combination with water has been used widely as an anti-freezing agent and engine coolant in automobile engines. The reason for this is due to its typical colligative properties such as depression in freezing point and elevation of boiling point which plays an important role at extreme temperature conditions. However, due to engine overheating, the cylinder head gasket or cylinder head in the engine gets damaged resulting in the mix-up of coolant with the engine oil. This can lead to severe consequences in the performance of the engine. The leakage of aqueous coolant into the crankcase weakens the lubrication ability of the engine oil that can favor deposit formations and boost friction which ends up in further overheating of the engine. It causes severe damage to the engine parts if left unattended. The destructive potential of ethylene glycol can harm the health of automobile engines within no time. Hence it is imperative to test the quality of used engine oil so often. Such periodic evaluations of the used engine oil open the possibility of recycling, thereby reducing the carbon footprint in the environment. ASTM has prescribed methods to quantitate ethylene glycol in used engine oils. Initially, ASTM D4291 put forward the use of GC-FID with an on-column injector and packed column for quantifying ethylene glycol from used engine oil. Later this was modified as ASTM D429104, which permits the use of capillary wax column for the same application. Both these methods recommend the use of liquid-liquid extraction as a sample preparation methodology.

September 29, 2021 GMT