Additives
Detergents, Dispersants, Defoamants, Anti-Wear, Anti-Oxidants, Extreme Pressure Agents, Anti-Corrosives, Viscosity Index Improvers and Pour Point Depressants
A lube consists of two major parts: Base Stock and Additive. The Base Stock is the primary lubricant and can be petroleum or synthetic. The Additive is usually a laboratory or synthesized product, or combination of products, which enhances the Base Stock's performance. Together the Base Stock and Additive make up the finished lubricant. Usually the additive comprises less than 20% of the total lubricant volume, but there are no absolutes.
Limitations: A lube is qualified primarily by its performance, not its additive quantities. Furthermore, the base stock is equally important to a lubes performance. Its chemical structure, resistance-to oxidation, wax content, etc., are all critical factors, as well as its compatibility with the proposed additive package.
Additive Metals: Our plasma emission spectrometer routinely measures five potential additive metals: Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Barium (Ba), Phosphorous (P), and Zinc (Zn). Boron (B) and Sodium (Na) may also be additives, as well as Molybdenum (Mo), though less frequently.
We detect these metals to aid in verifying that the correct product is being used, but detection of metals alone cannot verify their continued effectiveness as an additive. The reason is very simple: when a spectrometer measures Ca (for example) it is measuring Ca in any form (additive or contaminant). When the Ca containing additive is placed in the lubricant it has a particular chemical structure, and one can not monitor that structure or its effectiveness with metals detection alone. In analyzing a new lube, however, we can be fairly certain, and we can use this information to help predict the lubes performance capabilities.
