Silicone oil contamination can disrupt critical industrial processes by causing poor adhesion and coating defects. Many manufacturers require their suppliers to be silicone-free. LCS Laboratory Inc. offers laboratory analysis of surface wipe samples to detect and quantify silicone oil residues, ensuring your operations maintain the highest quality standards.
Purpose of Our Silicone Oil Testing Services
Silicone oil is widely used in industrial settings as a lubricant, vacuum oil, and releasing agent. However, its high penetration ability allows it to persist on surfaces even after routine cleaning, leading to contamination issues. Common problems include poor adhesion of adhesives and defects in paints or coatings, such as the “fisheye” defect. Our testing service helps identify silicone oil residues to prevent these issues, enabling smooth production and high-quality outcomes.
Technical Details of Our Silicone Oil Testing Process
LCS Laboratory provides a sampling kit and comprehensive analysis of wipe samples for silicone oil. Other oils, such as petroleum or vegetable oils, do not interfere with the testing:
- Sampling Kit: We provide a complete sampling kit, including:
- Precleaned paper filters (25-40 mm in diameter) used for collecting oil by surface wiping.
- Toluene or Dichloromethane as a wetting agent to improve oil recovery from the contaminated surface.
- Disposable polyethylene gloves.
- Collection Procedure: Samples are collected using the NIOSH 9102 methodology, ensuring consistent and reliable sample quality. The wipes are used to gather residues from the affected area and are then returned to our laboratory for analysis. We recommend collecting samples using a standardized surface area of 100 cm². Avoid using hand creams on the day of sampling to prevent contamination, as many hand care products contain significant amounts of silicone oil. Do not overload the samples with oils, and prevent oil loss by dripping from the wipe.
- Analytical Process: In our lab, we:
- Extract silicone oil from the wipes.
- Concentrate and purify the samples.
- Use Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to detect the Silicon-Oxygen-Silicone vibration spectrum of the silicone oil residues and measure the oil content using a reference silicone oil.
- Detection Limit: Our method achieves a typical detection limit of 10 μg of silicone oil per sample, providing sensitive and accurate results. Petroleum oils and vegetable oils do not interfere with the test results if present at concentrations less than 1000 μg per wipe.
Contact Us to Ensure Product Quality and Process Efficiency
If you suspect silicone oil contamination in your operations, LCS Laboratory is here to assist. Contact us today to protect your processes from silicone oil interference.
