Originally Posted By: paulri
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Unless you have gigantic particles I think the UOA is pretty accurate. Particles larger than 5 microns can get sucked up into the AA machine. They are still microscopic. 5 microns is barely bigger than a bacteria cell.
I looked for AA in the sticky for abbreviations, but didn't see it. OK what does that mean?
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
AA or AAS
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry
ICP-OES
AA is a single element analysis. Each element has to be run one at a time. ICP-OES is a simultaneous method. All of the elements of interest can be run in a single run, provided a single set of parameters give you the required detection limit. This is why we can have cheap UOA's.
AA uses a flame that is below the vaporization point of all but the lowest boiling point metals. Particles of Fe, Al, Pb, NI, Cu, etc. will not be seen as they remain particles in the flame and are not reduced to individual atoms that are needed to be counted in the analysis.
The plasma used in ICP-OES is hot enough to reduce any particle that makes it through the induction system to individual atoms, so the analysis will be more accurate than AA.
Neither is capable of providing the quality of data that would be needed to tell the difference between oil filters or the presence or absence of an oil filter. Both are designed to analyze metals in solution(single atoms). Oil as analyzed by typical UOA is a suspension.
Ed