Hand held fuel analyser for diesel/biodiesel

Oxford RF Sensors has developed a hand held battery powered sensor to measure diesel/bio-diesel mixtures that provides real time in-field measurements. The sensor measures the amount of bio-diesel in diesel and will also indicate whether the sample contains FAME or unrefined vegetable oil, contamination of the fuel or if a non-diesel sample is being tested. Common contaminants detected with an out of range error message include white spirit, petrol and water.

The robust sensor design is suited for on site test work as an early warning of possible contamination. The test procedure requires no special skills or lab conditions and is therefore suitable for a broad range of applications, from batch checking fuels at terminals, through to monitoring fuel supplies for standby power generation systems. The sensor will take a reading in twenty seconds and is accurate to within +- 1% over the range of bio-diesel concentrations from 0-100%. Independent trials show good agreement with laboratory based FTIR methods (Fourier Transform Infra Red).

The hand held fuel analyser stores up to 300 measurements and can download and print measurement data to a computer via a USB connector. This connection can also be used to upload new software and fluid parameters as and when new bio-fuels are introduced. Edited by: Constanze Schmitz