Thermogravimetric analysis in the synthetic engine oil 5W-30

Engine oils undergo oxidative degradation and wears out during service. Hence it is important to characterize ageing of engine oils at different simulated conditions to evaluate the performance of existing oils and also design new formulations. This work focuses on characterizing the thermo-oxidative degradation of synthetic engine oils 5W-30. Thermogravimetric analysis of fresh and degraded oil samples at different temperatures and ageing intervals was performed in STA 449 F3 Jupiter® coupled with the FTIR spectrometer. The temperature regime provided that the samples were heated to the temperature of 600°C at the heating rate of 10 K/min. Gases (nitrogen, argon) were used with flow rates of 60 mL/min. The results, along with discussion, are presented in graphs – TG curves and IR spectrum.