Role of FT-IR in Assessing Lubricant Degradation - A Study on Palm Oil Methyl Ester Blended Lubricant

In this paper, studies were made on the palm oil methyl ester (POME) added lubricants using FT-IR for monitoring oil degradation. In order to assess the degradation characteristics of POME added lubricant by FT-IR, static oxidation test was conducted using three different blended lubricants (viz, zero percent POME, five percent POME and ten percent POME with mineral-based oil) for 280 hrs. The oxidation temperature was set at $140^{\circ}C$. FT-IR quantitative data indicate an increased in oxidation products which was formed from 10% POME added lubricants after 280 hrs of oxidation test. The 5% POME added lubricant and mineral-based lubricant (without POME) showed less oxidation product after the test. From the FT-IR spectrum analysis of the oxidized oils it could be concluded that 5% POME can improve the performance of mineral-based oil by forming protective films.