OIL ANALYSIS IN BIODIESEL APPLICATION

mohammad rachman hidayat

Asia Pacific Product Application Specialist

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About the Presenter

Mohammad Rachman Hidayat is the Product Application

Specialist for Fleet Sector. His focus on providing advance
technical analysis, new technology trending solution, failure
diagnosis and advisor of product and service for fleet sector.
Rachman has long various experience in lubricant and rolling
bearing technology especially in Power, Agriculture, Fleet,
Mining, Pulp and Paper, Cement and General Manufacturing
sector

Holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering with 16

years working experience in lubricant industry.

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Agenda

• Biodiesel interaction with Lubricating Oil in Diesel Engine

• Oil Analysis From Field Data
• Fuel dilution and soot monitoring
• Conclusion and Recommendation
• Question and Answer

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 BIODIESEL INTERACTION WITH LUBRICATING OIL
IN DIESEL ENGINE

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BIODIESEL AND FUEL DILUTION PROBLEM IN LUBRICATING OIL
Fuel Dilution
The implementation of B20/B30 will increase Fuel Dilution in engine oil. This is because of two reason
• FAME has higher boiling point than conventional diesel, FAME vapour condenses faster in the sump leading the
accumulation of biocomponent in engine oil
• FAME is least volatile part of fuel, has higher molecular weight and evaporate slower than conventional diesel fuel

Non Ferrous metal corrosion (Cu, Pb, Sn)

With higher fuel dilution, the acidity of engine oil is increase. This will lead to corrosion of non ferrous metal such as main
bearing, conrond bearing (big end and small end). This is the role of lubricant performance to avoid the corrosion. The
wear trending of Copper, Lead and Tin will slightly increases after B20/B30 implementation. Shell Rimula 15W40
formulation has been tested and shows good results of below biofuel performance test. The simulation test even
simulate B50 or higher condition (typical max 5% fuel dilution by OEM spec)
• Daimler oxidation test OM 646 BIO
• CEC-L-109 Oxidation test
• Bearing Corrosion HTCBT
.
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 OIL ANALYSIS FROM FIELD DATA

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USED OIL ANALYSIS REPORT SHELL RIMULA 15W40
MEDIUM DUTY TRUCK 260 HP (UNIT A)
general limit on
oil lifetime (hours)
parameter highway
100 200 300 500 min max
Viscosity 13,6 13,09 12,41 12,12 12,5 16,3
oil properties
TBN 9,93 10,01 9,69 9,61 4
Iron 9 6 10 11 100
Copper 1 1 2 2 36
Aluminium 3 2 3 3 24
wear metal Chromium 1 1 1 1 10
Tin 1 1 1 1 14
Lead 1 1 1 1 40
PQ Index 13 13 11 2 21
FTIR Oxidation 0,15 0,19 0,3 0,41 0,4
Fuel Dilution by Distillation 1% 5
All Wear results for above units are still in below limit . Basic additive parameter (TBN) still in good
condition. Viscosity Drop related to fuel dilution. FTIR detect higher oxidation but no indication of
non-ferrous metal corossion (low Tin, Lead and Copper wear)

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USED OIL ANALYSIS REPORT SHELL RIMULA 15W40
MEDIUM DUTY TRUCK 260 HP (UNIT B)
general limit on
oil lifetime (hours)
parameter highway
100 200 300 500 min max
Viscosity 13,75 13,05 11,94 11,40 12,5 16,3
oil properties
TBN 9,78 9,5 8,99 8,36 4
Iron 11 14 22 34 100
Copper 1 2 3 5 36
Aluminium 3 3 3 3 24
wear metal Chromium 1 1 1 1 10
Tin 1 1 1 1 14
Lead 1 1 1 1 40
PQ Index 14 12 9 8 21
FTIR Oxidation 0,17 0,27 0,4 0,61 0,4
Fuel Dilution by Distillation 1% 5

All Wear results for above units are still in below limit . Basic additive parameter (TBN) still in good
condition. Viscosity Drop related to fuel dilution. FTIR detect higher oxidation but no indication of
non-ferrous metal corossion (low Tin, Lead and Copper wear)

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USED OIL ANALYSIS REPORT SHELL RIMULA 15W40
MEDIUM DUTY TRUCK 260 HP (UNIT C)
general limit on
oil lifetime (hours)
parameter highway
100 200 300 500 min max
Viscosity 14,46 13,95 14,24 14,05 12,5 16,3
oil properties
TBN 9,93 10,1 9,93 9,89 4
Iron 3 4 5 5 100
Copper 1 1 1 1 36
Aluminium 3 3 2 3 24
wear metal Chromium 1 1 1 1 10
Tin 1 1 1 1 14
Lead 1 1 1 1 40
PQ Index 3 2 13 0 21
FTIR Oxidation 0,02 0,02 0,02 0,02 0,4
Fuel Dilution by Distillation 5

No Viscosity change related to no fuel dilution detected. Oxidation still normal.

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 FTIR WAVE-LENGTH INTERFERENCE –OXIDATION VS BIODIESEL

Oxidation wavelength in used oil analysis

using FTIR also has potential interference
with methyl ester wavelength when fuel
dilution happened
 Source Shimadzu

general limit on
oil lifetime (hours)
parameter highway
100 200 300 500 min max
Viscosity 13,75 13,05 11,94 11,40 12,5 16,3
oil properties
TBN 9,78 9,5 8,99 8,36 4
FTIR Oxidation 0,17 0,27 0,4 0,61 0,4
Fuel Dilution by Distillation 1% 5
 Source ASTM E2412

FTIR Oxidation interference with

biodiesel contamination/fuel dilution

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COMMENT AND ANALYSIS

 For unit A and B the viscosity going down but for Unit C viscosity still normal
 Indication of fuel dilution in unit A and B. From complete oil analysis report, it’s clear that in 500 hours
fuel is detected 1% (using fuel distillation in house method).
 High FTIR oxidation correlated to Fuel Dilution (interference wavelength spectrum)
 Based on experience, viscosity drop due to fuel dilution will be OK as long as:
 No excessive wear in unit
 No oil pressure drop in unit

 In Compelete oil analysis, no indication of excessive wear in unit. This is great evidence that Shell Rimula
15W40 has very good wear metal protection and corrosive wear protection even when contaminated
with fuel

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 FUEL DILUTION AND SOOT MONITORING

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FISHBONE BIODIESEL EFFECT IN DIESEL ENGINE

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WHY SOOT AND FUEL DILUTION MONITORING IS IMPORTANT IN
POME BASED BIODIESEL?
Soot monitoring and fuel dilution very important and helpful to detect fuel system problem because of
below reason

• Biodiesel has tendency to built high deposit in injector hole that lead to bad spray pattern
• Biodiesel has higher viscosity compare to conventional diesel fuel that lead to bigger droplet fuel spray
pattern
• Biodiesel has potential to making delivery valve wear in fuel injection pump that lead to injector drip
(soot and fuel dilution will increase)

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SOURCE OF FUEL DILUTION AND SOOT

 Fuel Injection System Malfunction

 Fuel Delivery Valve wear (picture A)
 Injector Nozzle Needele Wear (picture B)
 Fuel Injection Pump Plunger Wear (picture C)
C

A B

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COMMON TESTING FOR FUEL DILUTION DETECTION

• By monitor viscosity drop ASTM D 445 (easy, fast and cheap)

• By Gas Chromatography ASTM D 3524 (expensive, accurate)
• FTIR (fast, need calibration with fuel used in equipment, possible to interefence with contaminance)
• By Distillation (take longer time, low detection limits)

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COMMON USED OIL TESTING TO MEASURE SOOT IN ENGINE OIL

FTIR
Measure Soot, Nitration, Oxidation, Sulfation, and
water with one equipment (FTIR/Fourier Transform
Infra Red)

HEPTANE INSOLUBLE
Measure soot as total insoluble in used oil using
centrifuge principle

BLOTTER PAPER TEST

Measure soot as total “darkness” on spot test in filter
paper. The quantitative result using photometer
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Methode Comparison

FTIR Heptane Insoluble Blotter Paper Test

Quick Methode Taking Longer Time Quick Methode

Cheap Expensive Cheap

Result can be
Results independence
interference with oil Result can be interference
with wear metal and
formulation and with waer metal
contamination
contamination

Can not evaluate

Can not evaluate Can evaluate
dispersancy
dispersancy performance of dispersancy performace
performance of lube
lube oil of lube oil
oil

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USING FTIR TO DETECT SOOT? REAL EXAMPLE EXPERIENCE

Below are cases when FTIR results in soot parameter is questionable compare to running hours

Unit Oil Life time (hours) Soot (by FTIR) Noted

CAT 3516B 100 0 Soot Zero?????
CAT 3516B 100 0 Soot Zero ?????
CAT 3516B 100 0 Soot Zero ?????
CAT 3516B 250 0 Soot Zero ?????

Soot (by FTIR) max Limit

Unit Oil Life time (hours) Comment
Abs/0,1 mm Abs/0,1 mm

soot at 100 hours only 2,8 % from

Japanese Truck 100 0,02 0,7
its maximum limits????
soot at 200 hours only 2,8 % from
Japanese Truck 200 0,02 0,7
its maximum limits????
soot at 300 hours only 4,3 % from
Japanese Truck 300 0,03 0,7
its maximum limits????
soot at 500 hours only 4,3 % from
Japanese Truck 500 0,03 0,7
its maximum limits????

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PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE : BLOTTER PAPER TEST FOR TESTING
ENGINE CONDITION (REFER TO ASTM 7899)

Customer using Rimula R5E 10W40 for two fleet (new

engine and old engine). The blotter paper test result
confirm that the old engine has high blow by compare to
new engine (results is well correlated with realistic data)

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OLD ENGINE : ENGINE LIFE AROUND 300,000 KM

Vehicle life time : 291.373 km Vehicle life time : 294.718 km Vehicle life time : 297.730 km

Oil Lifetime : 3841 km Oil Lifetime : 7186 km Oil Lifetime : 10198 km

Max 3 %

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NEW ENGINE : ENGINE LIFE AROUND 14,000 KM

Vehicle life time : 14.078 km Vehicle life time : 20.686 km

Oil Lifetime : 3718 km Oil Lifetime : 10.322 km

Max 3 %

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BLOTTER SPOT TEST ON SITE COMPARATOR

 Blotter Spot Test

 Comparator Correlated to ASTM D7899
 Simple, cheap, easy to understood with user
 Proven correlated to engine condition

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 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

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SUMMARY

 Fuel dilution has main problem in biodiesel application

 In POME based biodiesel, soot also should be monitored due to biodiesel effect to fuel injection system
 User will get advantage by Using high oxidation stability and excellent soot handling Lubricant
 Oxidation using FTIR Method has interference with Biodiesel content. Extra care when give
recommendation/analysis due to this interference
 Shell Rimula Formulation has proven to handle the challenging in biodiesel application even with fuel
dilution condition (good wear protection and oxidation resistance)
 Blotter spot test is cost effective method to check soot condition in engine oil, especially for site person

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