High Concentrations of Soot in Diesel Engine Lube Oils Easily Measured with Infrared Analyser

Extended drain times, combined with stringent emission requirements, make it important to routinely check the soot levels in diesel engine oil. Rapid, on-site field measurement of soot concentration levels in diesel engine lubricating oils at levels as high as 12 - 15% takes less than 30 seconds with the InfraCal Soot Meter from Wilks Enterprise, Inc. (USA). This compact, pushbutton analyser provides direct readout of the percent of suspended carbon (soot) in diesel engine lubricating oils without any sample preparation or dilution, solvents or messy transmission cells to clean.

Since the InfraCal Soot Meter was specifically designed for easy, on-site testing, it represents a major time savings from the widely-used and accepted thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and FT-IR methods which are impractical as field analysis methods. The measurement data obtained from the Soot Meter will correlate to TGA and FT-IR analysis techniques with several distinct advantages. Analysis time with the InfraCal Soot Meter is less than 30 seconds per sample with direct readout of soot levels as high as 12 – 15% without sample dilution or transmission cells to clean. It is also significantly lower in cost and one step, pushbutton operation makes it easy to use with minimal operator training.

A rugged, no-moving parts design ensures years of virtually maintenance-free operation with the InfraCal Soot Meter. Weighing less than 5 lbs., it operates off 12 volt d.c. power and is ideal for use along side diesel engines for on-site, field measurements, in the used oil/engine testing laboratory, at power generation stations, or for truck, bus, and off-highway equipment fleets. The InfraCal Soot Meter is Ideal for use on all types of diesel lubricating oils and engines.