To maintain healthy engines, both their lubricants and coolants need to be changed or monitored regularly. Lubricant analysis for additives and wear metals by ICP-OES is standardized and has been occurring for years. However, since the coolant system is the next biggest point of failure for engines, many in-service lubricant labs are now also being asked to measure the elemental concentrations of engine coolant samples to monitor additive levels, corrosion metals, and contaminants in order to determine if the coolant is still fit for use.
This work demonstrates the ability of the Avio® 550 Max fully simultaneous ICP-OES to measure in-service coolant samples, providing accurate multi-element determination and long-term stability in accordance with ASTM method D6130.