ASTM International

Fuel and Fuel System Microbiology - Fundamentals, Diagnosis, and Contamination Control
 N MNL47

Annotation

Preface

The Manual on Fuel and Fuel System Microbiology-Fundamentals, Diagnosis, and Contamination Control augments Standard Guide D 64692. It is addressed to all liquid fuel production, transportation, and consumption stakeholders. The target audience includes management, supervisory, operational, quality assurance, maintenance, inspection, and technical personnel responsible for fuel quality, fuel handling equipment integrity, or both. The material presented in this Manual is equally applicable for gasoline, diesel (including biodiesel), aviation turbine, marine, industrial gas turbine, kerosene, gasoline, and aviation gasoline fuels. Much of the information is also applicable to other fuel grades ranging from bunker to natural gas.

This manual seeks to complement the Guide D 6469 in each of four areas. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the microbiological principles underlying fuel and fuel system biodeterioration. The information contained in this chapter will enable the reader to better understand why recognizing biodeterioration is difficult yet essential.

Sampling for microbial contamination detection presents unique challenges. Both the non-homogeneous distribution of microbes and the fact that they are living beings necessitate special handling, not discussed in Standard Practice D 4057 Manual Sampling of Petroleum and Petroleum Productsa. Consequently, Chapter 2 provides the detailed information personnel need to collect and handle samples intended for biodeterioration diagnosis.

Chapter 3 provides specific, practical recommendations for disinfecting and removing microbial contamination from fuels and fuel systems.

As noted earlier, D 6469 recommends a variety of diagnostic tests, many of which do not appear in the Annual Book of Standards, Volume 5. Since quite a few of the tests examine bottom water properties, they aren't run at fuel labs routinely. Nearly all of the methods that aren't drawn from Volume 5 come from the Annual Book of Standards, Volumes 10, 11, or 14. By incorporating the Standards from these three volumes into this Manual, it was our intention to improve test method accessibility, which would expand the diagnostic capabilities of fuel quality labs.