What is BS EN 17181 - Test method based on CO2-production for aerobic biological degradation about?
BS EN 17181 is a European standard on lubricants that discusses the determination of aerobic biological degradation of fully formulated lubricants in an aqueous solution to correctly determine the aerobic biological degradation to enhance the efficacy of fully formulated lubricants.
BS EN 17181 specifies a procedure for determining the degree of aerobic degradation of fully formulated lubricants. The organic material in a fully formulated lubricant is exposed in a synthetic aqueous medium under laboratory conditions to an inoculum from activated sludge.
Under BS EN 17181 biodegradation resulting in mineralization of the organic material can be determined by measuring released CO2 in a total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer.
The method specified under BS EN 17181 applies to fully formulated lubricants that
- Are water-soluble, non-water-soluble or emulsifiable
- Are not toxic and not inhibitory to the test microorganisms at the test concentration
The test method is focused on freshwater as the test medium.
Note: Tests in seawater are currently not included under BS EN 1781, but maybe introduced later.
Who is BS EN 17181- Test method based on CO2-production for aerobic biological degradation for?
BS EN 17181 on test method based on CO2-production for aerobic biological degradation is relevant to:
- Fully formulated lubricant manufacturers
- Testing laboratories on CO2 production
- Any entity involved in the determination of lubricants
Why should you use BS EN 17181- Test method based on CO2-production for aerobic biological degradation?
Fully formulated lubricants (oils or greases or emulsions) are complex mixtures of mostly organic compounds that are mainly water insoluble. Testing of organic substances requires a broad scope of preparation tools to maintain comparable results for all different materials appearing liquid, solid, water-soluble, non-water-soluble or emulsifiable. In consequence of this, results differ regarding the choice of a test method, preparation procedure or inoculum thus leading to low levels of reproducibility and repeatability.
BS EN 17181 assist you with the test method and procedure for determining aerobic biodegradation of organic substances in an aqueous medium.
The test method under BS EN 17181 has been aligned by modifying sample preparation and test procedure for such complex mixtures to achieve improved significance of test results.
With compliance and obedience to BS EN 17181, you can accurately determine aerobic biological degradation and enhance the efficacy of lubricants.
In addition, achieve better market transparency, the enhanced reputation of “bio-lubricants” and gain the confidence of the customer.