Water contamination may cause different problems in different
types of lubricating oil, although corrosion is always directly associated
with water ingress. Whatever the equipment, water can displace
the oil at contacting surfaces, reducing the amount of
lubrication and activating surfaces which may themselves act as
catalysts for degradation of the oil. Water is an important contaminant
in many lubricant oil systems because of its potential to
cause failure via a number of mechanisms. Water contamination
within lubricating/lube oil storage tanks can lead to microbiological growth, forming yeast, mould and bacteria that will clog filters
and very rapidly corrode fuel systems [22].
The water content of lubricant oils can be quickly and accurately
determined by dissolving the wet oil in ethyl acetate and
measuring the near-infrared absorbance of the solution, relative
to a similar reference solution previously dried by molecular
sieves