Calibration


MIXING OIL AND WATER: A NEW CALIBRATION OPTION FOR METALS-IN-OIL TESTING


Metals-in-oil analysis is routine in applications ranging from equipment maintenance and lubricant production to food and product testing, but oil-based workflows come with compromises. Organic-rich oil matrices can contribute to carbon buildup, torch cleaning, and wear on sample introduction components. On the calibration side, organometallic standards have long been the practical choice, but labs may still have to manage shelf-life limitations, narrower element options, sulfur-specific calibration steps, and solvent handling concerns. Here, Greg Rankin looks at what changes when aqueous standards are no longer walled off from oil analysis. He explains how hybrid aqueous/bio-based organic calibration chemistry gives labs another path beyond traditional organometallic standards, where it may reduce common pain points, and what labs still need to validate before changing an established ICP- OES workflow.


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etals-in-oil testing is routine laboratory work, but the results often guide expensive decisions. In equipment maintenance, rising levels of iron,


copper, aluminium or other wear metals can indicate that a component is beginning to degrade. In lubricant production, additive metals help confirm whether an oil contains the chemistry required to perform. In food and product testing, elemental analysis can also be used to check for toxic or unwanted metals in edible oils and other oil-based matrices.


The work is well established, but it comes with compromises. Organic-rich oil matrices can contribute


September 2026 Instrumentation Monthly


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