Tiered approach to long-term weathered lubricating oil analysis: GC/FID, GC/MS diagnostic ratios, and multivariate statistics. Issue 43 (21st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chua, Candice C.; Brunswick, Pamela; Kwok, Honoria; Yan, Jeffrey; Cuthbertson, Daniel; van Aggelen, Graham; Shang, Dayue
• Is Part Of: Analytical methods. Volume 12:Issue 43(2020)
• Page Start: 5236
• Page End: 5246
• Publication Date: 2020-10-21
• Subjects: Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Analytical biochemistry -- Periodicals; Chemical laboratories -- Standards -- Periodicals; 543.1905
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ay01510e
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1759-9660

Abstract

Abstract : A multivariate statistical approach serves as a powerful tool for dealing with a challenging, simulated lube oil forensic study. Abstract : Frequent small-scale environmental releases of lubricating (lube) oils have deleterious effects on aquatic ecosystems. In the event of a spill, oil fingerprinting is critical to source attribution, clean-up procedures, and liability assignment. Oil forensic investigations are particularly challenging when oils are weathered over an extended period of time, as a large number of biomarkers become lost and the chemical composition changes significantly from its source. This study simulated an environmental case in which long-term weathered lube oil "spill" samples were matched to unweathered suspect "source" oils. While traditional oil fingerprinting techniques including GC/FID and GC/MS diagnostic ratios were insufficient for reliably attributing the source, a comprehensive and systematically tiered approach proved successful. The proposed methodology featured three tiers: Tier 1 GC/FID, Tier 2 GC/MS diagnostic ratios, and Tier 3 multivariate statistics. This novel approach provided environmental chemists with a powerful tool for dealing with an otherwise extremely challenging lube oil forensic investigation.