Analytical Techniques for Detection of Oil Presence in Mortar

Abstract

Oils, e.g. linseed oil, has been used as mortar admixtures or components of lime-oil mastic since ancient times. The reason was either to increase the mortar durability and/or to prolong the mortar/mastic workability. Historic mortars are conventionally analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis, but these methods are not able to detect the organic compounds directly. The goal of the present research was to evaluate the applicability of thermal analysis, infra-red spectroscopy, solid state NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography for detection and possible quantification of linseed oil in prepared mortar containing, beyond the oil, just lime and calcite. Both applied spectroscopies were able not only detect the presence of oil but may be used also for study of the oil chemical transformation in the alkaline environment of the lime mortar. Thermal analysis is not able to identify kind of organic admixture, but when it is known that it is e.g. linseed oil, its quantification by help of Evolved Gas Analysis is very good. The results of gas chromatography of mortar’s extract are affected by the polymerization of oil in mortar. The total organic content analysis is providing good information about the total amount of organics in mortar. There in not any single method, which could provide all information about the oil admixture in mortar (kind of oil, content of oil, fate of oil after mortar’s mixing) by itself; the combination of techniques must be used.