You may already know that over time diesel fuel will degrade and harbor harmful contaminants such as water, microbes, particulate, and sludge. Now, you are looking for a reliable testing method to ensure you do not face the consequences of equipment failure due to subpar fuel quality.
根据NFPA 110standard, people who own and operate buildings with emergency generators are required to conduct fuel quality testing annually to ensure their backup power does not fail during a power outage. These tests must be performed to meet theASTM D975testing standards.
While annual testing may be sufficient to meet minimum regulatory requirements, it is not necessarily optimal for ensuring that your diesel fuel stays within specification throughout the year. For many facilities that are vested in mitigating downtime, fuel quality testing will likely occur more frequently to either confirm the effectiveness of existing燃油维护programs or prescribe remediation services like燃油抛光.
When searching for diesel fuel testing options, it may not be abundantly clear what choices you may have. That is why we went ahead and developed a quick guide to cover all the available options for testing your diesel fuel for cleanliness or contamination.
Lab Testing Options for Diesel Fuel Contamination:
For regulatory reporting, most of these tests are performed offsite in a specialized lab. Facilities will capture several fuel samples from their tank(s) and ship them to these laboratories for analysis.
根据规定的ASTM测试包装，这些实验室将寻找并测量一种或几种类型的污染物，从而为设施提供有关其燃料总体质量的重要反馈。
Microbial Lab Test (ex:ASTM D7978)
Microbial contamination can be one of the most alarming signals of poor fuel quality. While microbes will always reside in diesel, they will not over proliferate to damaging levels unless there is a sufficient source of water.
微生物燃料测试通常寻找特定的细菌和/或真菌已知会损坏燃料并产生污泥和沉积物。如果这些微生物水平超出了一定的测量，则可以推断出燃油箱中可能存在水和沉积物污染。
需要进行诸如燃油抛光之类的补救措施，以恢复燃料的质量，以代替仅使用诸如杀菌剂等化学添加剂。
Water/Sediment Lab Test (ex:ASTM D2709)
As previously discussed, water contamination is the main prerequisite to rampant microbial contamination and should therefore be monitored and mitigated.
随着时间的流逝，水可以通过冷凝水进入燃料，并积聚在水箱底部，从而为微生物生长创造了理想的条件，从而导致沉积物形成。水/沉积物测试将测量悬浮在燃料中的水和沉积物的量。
Particulate Lab Test (ex:ASTM D6217)
Larger particulates in the fuel are known to be especially harmful to engine injector tips. Therefore, a particulate lab test may be necessary to determine the overall cleanliness and quality of the diesel fuel.
This test will measure and report on the size and mass of the particulate present in the provided fuel samples. These measurements will give a good indication of whether the fuel needs additional filtration before it can be safely and reliably used.
柴油燃料污染的现场测试选项：
尽管可能需要进行实验室测试，但现场测试选项是可靠的替代方法，可以使设施全年更快地提供有关其燃油质量的反馈。
基于生长的微生物测试
基于增长的微生物测试酒培养可以在现场或实验室进行。这些测试需要72小时才能完成，因为用户等待可见生长的迹象出现在收集的燃料样品中。
Users can then determine the severity of bacterial and fungal contamination in their fuel by comparing the color density of the sample bottle(s) with the provided color chart.
Instant Microbial Testing
FUELSTAT®is an instantASTM D6469合规燃料测试，检查已知会损坏柴油燃料的特定微生物。这些测试只需15分钟即可完成，这使它们成为传统基于增长的测试的替代速度。
用户只需准备燃油样品，然后将其放在提供的测试板上的井中。完成后，可以使用FuelStat®结果应用程序扫描和验证测试结果。
水找到糊状
KolorKut®水找到糊状提供了一种简单而即时的方法来检查柴油燃料中水的存在。一旦接触任何水，糊状剂就可以简单地更改颜色（金黄色为红色）。
Users can apply the Kolor Kut® paste to a measuring stick or rod and insert it into the tank. By observing the rod or measuring stick, one can gain an idea of the water’s depth in addition to whether it is present in the tank.
实验室与现场测试选项
Lab testing for diesel fuel cleanliness or contamination is generally a good option and arguably the only option for complying with the NFPA 110 annual testing requirement. The only downfall to this type of testing is the higher cost and decreased accuracy of microbial lab tests.
许多设施将希望更频繁地测试其燃料，以确保全年保持其可靠性。
现场燃油质量测试FUELSTAT®通常，要比使用第三方实验室检查燃料样品便宜。当进行任何微生物测试时，当样本收集和实际实验室测试之间发生更大的时间时，也存在其准确性。
Microbes will continue to proliferate after the sample has been drawn. The longer it takes the sample to reach the lab and for the lab to test the sample, the less representative that sample is of the fuel’s quality.
为了进一步减轻燃油质量差的任何设施停机时间的威胁，现场定期测试是一个更好的选择，它将在更短的时间范围内产生更准确的结果。这将为设施提供更多的时间来采用补救服务，这是不到理想的测试结果所必需的。
Capturing “Good” Samples for Diesel Fuel Testing
无论您采用哪种测试方法，您都需要一种从储罐中捕获最有问题的区域的柴油样品。对于圆柱罐，这将是最底层。对于基地/腹部坦克，这几乎是任何角落，尤其是在挡板之间。
从这些区域收集样品将帮助您避免任何清洁度的幻觉，确保您的燃料获得所需的维护，然后才能造成对水箱本身或连接设备的任何损坏。
两种用于捕获柴油燃料样品的流行产品是流体采样泵和油箱采样器(a.k.a. the bacon-bomb). The fluid sampling pump is straightforward, featuring a hand pump that pulls fuel through its flexible tubing into a spin-on fuel sampling container.
燃油箱采样器的设计不太明显。该设备的量要较低，并带有两个连接链的水箱。一个链条将在那里引导设备进入水箱，而另一个链条一旦设备达到所需的深度，则应将其拉动，从而使燃料流入并填充设备。
