With an annual requirement for hundreds of thousands of analyses, Spectro need full automation and, having had a long and successful association, decided on Metrohm as its preferred supplier
Spectro has been providing oil, fuel, hydraulic fluid and debris analysis services to international oil companies, engine manufacturers and operators of aircraft, ships and industrial machines for over 30 years.
Typical tests include total acid number (TAN), total base number (TBN) and water content analysis of various lubricants.
A high TAN number can represent the potential for accelerated rust, corrosion and oxidation and may be a signal that the oil should be replaced.
Critical TAN numbers are dependant on oil type and application.
TBN's are a measure of the ability of the oil to cope with increasing acid levels, ie, when an oil becomes contaminated with acids the TBN drops.
TBN levels are again dependant on oil type and application and lower levels set accordingly.
In 2006 the first of the new Metrohm USB autosampler systems were commissioned at the UK site.
As with all high tech systems there were initial teething problems but these were soon over come with the dedicated support team from Metrohm UK.
Colin Stevens-Hoare, chief chemist, stated: "The installation of such a large number of systems was much smoother than he had anticipated".
Later in the year, all of the older systems were put onto a client server based system controlled by Metrohm's Tiamo titration software; allowing the storage of results to a central database, and commonality of methods and user administration.
The reporting team are now able to access results from all 15 systems in their office saving time, effort and completely eliminating any transcription errors in the process.
Sue Bell, laboratory supervisor, said: "The decision to use Metrohm's equipment was fully justified with the reliability of the machines and the excellent service and support delivered by their team".
Identical systems have now been installed in Spectro's laboratory in America, making the partnership with Metrohm even stronger.
