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Lab of the future: Automated robotic analysis of petroleum products

Apr 1, 2024

Article

Analyzing various parameters in petroleum products is one of the most frequent requests in contract or quality control laboratories. Automation has gained popularity in the last decade due to the high number of tests required along with the use of aggressive solvents and reagents. Combined automated benchtop-based systems are available, but these still require operators to perform many manual steps. This blog article gives an example of an automated system that goes beyond the benchtop, offering users total hands-free analysis from start to finish.

Benefits of automating chemical analysis

There are many benefits to gain when changing from a stand-alone laboratory setup to a fully automated system. A quick summary of these can be made using the application example of analyzing the total acid number (TAN) and total base number (TBN) in petroleum products.

Aggressive solvents and titrants must be used for the determination of TAN and TBN in oils. Automating all steps that include handling of these reagents results in a much safer work environment for lab technicians by eliminating exposure to the chemicals and their vapors. 

Two researchers in laboratory examine golden liquid in test tube. Laboratory diagnostics concept