Determination of Total Alkalinity of Motor Oil by FTIR Spectroscopy
Keywords:
engine oil, total base number (TBN), FTIR spectrometry, principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares method (PLS), chemometryAbstract
The article presents methods of determination of total alkalinity of motor oils by FTIR spectroscopy using PLS and PCR chemometric algorithms. The PLS algorithm, applied to the visible spectra (1764-1520 cm–1) proved to be the most suitable algorithm in predicting TBN (total base number) values. The main advantage of the PLS model for determination of TBN (compared with potentiometric titration) is its rapidity and minimum consumption of chemicals. The FTIR-PLS models must be supplemented by new standards at certain time intervals due to lubricant and batch differences within the same type of oil.