Lube Oil Analysis with the Rigaku Supermini200 Benchtop WDXRF Spectrometer

The Woodlands, TX. September 20, 2012.

Rigaku Corporation is pleased to announce the publication of a new application report on the Rigaku Supermini200, the world’s only benchtop WDXRF spectrometer and the latest in a series of revolutionary compact WDXRF systems from Rigaku. Application Note #5039 describes the analysis of unused lubricating oils and additives for a variety of inorganic elements following ASTM method D6443-04. The report covers sample preparation, method calibration and repeatability analysis.

The composition of lubricant oils and their additives has a significant effect on their functional properties. As the desired performance specifications of these lubricants have become tighter, the need for precise, accurate analysis has increased. To realize greater cost-efficiency, the lubricant industry is turning to tools that not only meet the new performance requirements but are also easier and less expensive to acquire, install and maintain. Wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF) is displacing wet chemistry and other labor-intensive analytical techniques, but typical floor-standing units have special space and facility requirements, including electrical power and cooling water. The Supermini200 offers comparable precision and resolution, as well as excellent sensitivity for light elements, in a lower-cost benchtop package, giving lubricant and additive manufacturers a compact and convenient alternative to the large, high-power WDXRF systems.

Application Note #5039 demonstrates that lubricating oils and additives can be routinely analyzed with exceptional accuracy, sensitivity and repeatability using a benchtop WDXRF spectrometer with minimal site requirements.

A copy of this application report can be requested at www.rigaku.com/products/xrf/supermini/app5039.