Determination of calcium, magnesium and zinc in unused lubricating oils by atomic absorption spectroscopy

Varying concentrations of lanthanum and strontium were added to solutions of ashed unused lubricating oils for the determination of calcium, magnesium and zinc content using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. At least 3000 μg g⁻¹ of lanthanum or strontium was required to completely overcome the interference of the phosphate ion, PO³⁻₄, and give peak values for calcium. The presence of lanthanum or strontium did not cause an appreciable increase in the amount of magnesium and zinc obtained from the analyses. The method is fast and reproducible, and the coefficients of variation calculated for the elements using one of the samples were 1.6% for calcium, 3.5% for magnesium and 0.2% for zinc. Results obtained by this method were better than those obtained by other methods for the same samples.