Assessment of Lubricating Oil Sold by Roadside Vendors in Minna Metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The efficiency of automotive and non-automotive engines relies solely on the quality of the engine oil. This study evaluate the quality of engine oil sold by some road-side vendors in Minna metropolis. Eight oil samples were randomly collected and analyzed for physicochemical parameters which include speciöc gravity, pour point, øash point, cloud point, kinematic viscosity, acid value, iodine value and saponiöcation value using standard methods. The results of the parameters analyzed were speciöc gravity (A1 (0.897), A2 (0.883), B1 (0.891), B2 (0.890), C1 (0.894), C2 (0.908), D1 (0.899) and D2 (0.896) ), pour point (A1 (-6.2 oC), A2 (-6.5 oC), B1 (-5.9 oC), B2 (-4.5 oC), C1 (-4.7 oC), C2 (-3.6 oC), D1 (-6.5 oC) and D2 (-6.9 oC) ), øash point (A1 (256.8 oC), A2 (239.4 oC), B1 (269.2 oC), B2 (165.5 oC), C1 (175.9 oC), C2 (144.2 oC), D1 (161.8 oC) and D2 (191.2 oC) ), cloud point (A1 (-9.9 oC), A2 ( -9.0 oC), B1 (-4.6 0C), B2 (-1.8 oC), C1 (-7.4 oC), C2 (-9.8 0C), D1 (-6.7 0C) and D2 (-4.8 oC), kinematic viscosity (A1 (43 mm2 /s), A2 (36 mm2 /s), B1 (35 mm2 /s), B2 (43 mm2 /s), C1 (34 mm2 /s), C2 (32 mm2 /s), D1 (42 mm2 /s) and D2 (41 mm2 /s) ), acid value (A1 (1.42 mgKOH/g), A2 (1.68 mgKOH/g), B1 (1.34 mgKOH/g), B2 (1.58 mgKOH/g), C1 (1.90 mgKOH/g), C2 (1.34 mgKOH/g), D1 (1.34 mgKOH/g) and D2 (1.34 mgKOH/g) ) , iodine value (A1 (13.1 mgI2 /g), A2 (9.7 mgI2 /g), B1 (10.2 mgI2 /g), B2 (13.3 mgI2 /g), C1 (13.11 mgI2 /g), C2 (10.8 mgI2 /g), D1 (20.1 mgI2 /g) and D2 (13.8 mgI2 /g) ) and saponiöcation value ( A1 (196.35 mgKOH/g), A2 (143.05 mgKOH/g), B1 (167.18 mgKOH/g), B2 (192.42 mgKOH/g), C1(173.23 mgKOH/g), C2 (143.00 mgKOH/g), D1 (147.54 mgKOH/g) and D2 (106.31 mgKOH/g). This study revealed that the two most important parameters of engine oil, kinematic viscosity and acid value were below and above the stipulated standards by the ASTM (48 mm2 /s and 0.02-0.8 mgKOH/g). These deviations from the standard values stipulated by ASTM might be due to adulteration of the engine oils. Therefore, Government agencies with mandate of monitoring engine oil quality should carry out periodic evaluation of the engine oils sold by the roadside vendors to check their sharp practices.