Determination of ethylene glycol in lubricants by derivatization static headspace gas chromatography

Abstract

A practical and reliable method for the analysis of ethylene glycol in either hydrocarbon based or synthetic lubricants has been successfully developed and implemented. The method involves the use of static headspace gas chromatography and flame ionization detection. A fast and specific derivatization approach was incorporated, involving the use of phenyl boronic acid to convert ethylene glycol to 2-phenyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolane. With this analytical approach, a complete analysis can be conducted in less than 15 min with a relative precision of less than 10% at two concentrations; 100 ppm (w/w) and 1000 ppm (w/w) respectively. The method has a linear range from 5 ppm (w/w) to 1000 ppm (w/w) with a correlation co-efficient of 0.9993, a recovery greater than 95% and a detection limit of 1 ppm (w/w).

Electrochemical Sensor for Ethylene Glycol using Reduced Graphene Oxide/AuNp/Ni(OH)2 Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

“…Ethylene Glycol (EG) is an alcohol widely used in industry due to its physical and chemical characteristics such as high flash point, low freezing point, low volatility, low flammability, thermodynamically stable and high availability 1 . In the plastic industry, the EG is a precursor of the polyethylene terephthalate very used to produce PET bottles, in the automobile industry it is the main component of the cooling fluid in combustion engines [2][3][4] , in the petroleum industry it is used as a hydrate formation inhibitor [5][6][7] , in other sectors as solvent 8 and as antifreeze on airport and highway runways 2 .…”

“…However, the use of this reagent can cause serious problems not only to the environment, but also to human health as well as problems in the lubrication of machines. When there is a leakage of the refrigerant oil in the car engine, it causes a decrease in the tribological properties of the lubricating oil, which can lead to the melting of the cylinders and even the fusion of the engines 4,9,10 . In the oil industry, a large quantity of this reagent is used, for this reason, is necessary to recover the environmental impact and control the quality of the fuel produced 11,12 .…”