Fuel Analysis

Fuels Analysis in the Fuels and Lubricants Research Division offers virtually every standard industry test, including ASTM, UOP, SAE, and federal tests to evaluate fuel, lubricant, and functional fluid quality. CFR octane and cetane engines measure antiknock characteristics of finished gasolines and the ignition quality of diesel fuels.

Robert Legg, Manager

Technical services in the section include:

• Gasoline fuels analyses
  • Research and motor octane numbers
  • Benzene content
  • Hydrocarbon typing
  • Distillations
  • Oxygenate content
  • Sulfur and other elemental contents
  • Vapor pressure; V/L ratio
  • Unwashed and washed gums
  • Oxidation stability
  • Sulfur speciation
  • Density
    
    
• Diesel fuel analyses
  • Biodiesel specification testing
  • Cetane numbers
  • Hydrocarbon typing
  • Distillations
  • Density
  • Water and sediment
  • Flash point
  • Heat of combustion
  • Sulfur content
  • Carbon residue
  • Cold filter plugging point
  • Low temperature flow test
  • Cloud point
  • Pour point
  • Copper strip corrosion
  • Aniline point
  • Hydrogen speciation
  • Particulate contamination
  • Carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen content
  • Color
  • Poly-nuclear aromatic content
  • Filter blocking tendency
    
    
• Laboratory instrumentation and equipment
  • Atomic absorption spectroscopy
  • Automatic distillation units
  • Density meters
  • Elemental analyzers, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur
  • Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer
  • Wavelength dispersive X-ray analyzers
  • Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
  • Gas chromatographs with various detectors
  • High performance liquid chromatographs with various detectors
  • Octane and cetane test engines
  • Ultraviolet-visible spectrometer
  • Thermal analyzers, TGA and DSC
  • Supercritical fluid chromatograph
  • Broadband NMR
  • Gas chromatographs with mass selective detectors (GCMS)

Other services offered by the laboratory include:

• Nuclear power plant diesel fuel and lubricant quality assurance and analysis
• Aviation fuel testing
• Lubricity and fuel screener test laboratories
• Trace pollutants analysis
• Bench testing for injector building and valve deposit tendencies

For more information about this program, visit the Fuel Laboratory.

Division Publications

Petroleum Products Research Department
Fuels and Lubricants Research Division
SwRI Technical Divisions SwRI Home

May 17, 2012