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Causes of Nitration in Engine Oil
Causes of Nitration in Engine Oil
Causes of Nitration in Engine Oil
Noria Corporation
Tags: automotive
"What are the main causes of nitration in gas
engines — operating load, air/fuel ratio, gas
quality or oil temperature? What else needs to
be checked?"
Engine combustion chambers provide one of
the few environments where there is
sufficient heat and pressure to break down
the atmospheric nitrogen molecule into two
atoms that can react with oxygen to form
nitrous oxides (NOx).
Nitration is a degradation of the oil that results from a reaction of the oil with
gaseous NOx created during combustion. Nitration is somewhat distinctive to
natural gas engine oils, especially stoichiometric engines due to their
combustion conditions.
Crankcase Ventilation
Better crankcase ventilation has the same effect as improved scavenging by
reducing the contact between NOx and the oil.
Oil Sump Temperature
Nitration of the oil from NOx in the blow-by gases that enter the sump increases
at lower oil sump temperatures, i.e., below 80 degrees C (175 degrees F), and
increases as sump temperatures approach 70 degrees C (160 degrees F). This is
different from oxidation, which increases with temperature and becomes
significant at oil temperatures greater than 90 degrees C (190 degrees F).
Spark Timing
While evidence exists indicating that spark timing influences nitration, there are
no defined studies on its impact.
Air/fuel Ratio
Low rates of nitration may be maintained if the oxygen level in the exhaust is
outside the range of 0.5 to 4.5 percent, with nitration reaching a peak at nearly
3.3 percent oxygen.
Load
Field tests have shown that nitration increases when ambient air temperatures
rise and/or engine loads are higher.