Automation in Trace Metal Analysis of Engine Coolants

Engine coolants are critical to prevent overheating, corrosion, and premature engine wear. Over time, coolant formulations degrade—additives deplete, mixtures become imbalanced, and trace metals from engine components accumulate. Monitoring these changes provides early warning signs of mechanical issues and supports the development of effective maintenance schedules. 

As a result, many in-service laboratories that already analyze hundreds of engine lubricants are now tasked with coolant analysis as well, creating challenging workloads, increasing consumable costs, and introducing more opportunities for handling errors. 

ASTM D6130 defines the standard method for determining 12 elements in coolants using ICP-OES. In this work, we demonstrate how pairing the Agilent 5900 ICP-OES with the ADS 2 auto-dilution system simplifies this process while delivering a stable, reproducible, and accurate method for ASTM compliance. By automating both sample and standard preparation, the ADS 2 reduces manual steps, improves consistency, and saves valuable lab time—making it an ideal solution for high-throughput environments.

Presenter: Luke Gormley (Pre-Sales Application Engineer, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Luke earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Clemson University in South Carolina. He began his career at an environmental contract testing laboratory, where he used EPA methods for routine ICP-OES analysis. Later, he expanded his role by joining the laboratory’s instrument service and repair team, troubleshooting a wide range of analytical instruments and testing equipment. In 2025 Luke joined Agilent Technologies, where he now works as an Application Scientist, supporting the ICP-OES, MP-AES, and AA product lines.