| Abstract Title: | Comparison of multiple performance properties of diesel fuel using an innovative Near-Infrared Analyzer designed for field analysis |
| Abstract Type: | Poster |
| Session Choice: | Analytical Techniques: Molecular Spectroscopy and On-Line Analysis |
| Presenter Name: | Dr Raj Shah |
| Co-authors: | Mrs Cindy Galdamez Mr Vincent Colantuoni Dr Stuart Farquharson Mr Wayne Smith |
| Company/Organisation: | Koehler Instrument Company |
| Country: | United States |
Abstract Information :
When transporting fuels, specifically diesel fuels, it is important to verify that the fuel shipments meet required specifications. Often in the transportation process, the shipments pass through custody at different depots, pipelines and ports where the fuel properties should be quickly checked. To meet this need of testing multiple properties in the field, a fuel analyzer based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was developed.
In the development of the portable fuel property analyzer, spectral region and resolution were examined. It was found that the 1000 to 1600 nm region provided the best near-infrared to fuel property correlation when path length was taken into account. Based on these results, a field-portable near-infrared fuel analyzer was built that employed an incandescent light source, sample compartment optics to hold 2 mL glass sample vials with ˜1 cm path length, a transmission grating, and a 256 channel InGaAs detector that measures the above stated wavelength range with 5 - 6 nm resolution. The analyzer produced high signal to noise ratio (SNR) spectra of samples in 5 s.
To compare this new technology with the traditional laboratory test procedures, the analyzer and diesel property models were tested by measuring seven diesel samples at an ASTM certification laboratory. For diesel fuels, the properties tested include Density / API Gravity, Distillation Fractions, Cetane Index, Viscosity, Flash Point, Cloud Point, Biodiesel, and Sulfur. The standard deviations between the values given by the analyzer and the ASTM laboratory instrument measured values for these samples were generally better than the model root mean squared error of correlation or, in other terms, the cross-validated values for each property. This innovative analyzer will be able to produce quick and accurate results correlated to ASTM methods for on-site fuel verification.
