The new standard test method for the screening of fuels and fuel-associated aqueous specimens for microbial contamination by lateral flow immunoassay has now been listed and is available for download.
Following the listing, Conidia Bioscience announced that the company’s FUELSTAT fuel contamination test kit, a simple 10-minute immunoassay based test for detecting microbial contamination in both aviation and diesel fuel, is fully compliant with the new standard.
ASTM International is a globally recognised leader in the development and delivery of voluntary consensus standards. Today, they have over 12,000 standards in use around the world to improve product quality, enhance health and safety, strengthen market access and trade, and build consumer confidence.
ASTM D6469 – 14, Para 8.3 – 8.6, Standard Guide for Microbial Contamination in Fuels and Fuel Systems section states: “It is recommended that ideally testing should be completed on site within a few minutes of sampling.” However, the regulation also states that if the test cannot be undertaken on site, fuel samples must be transported on ice and tested four hours but no longer than 24 hours after sampling. FUELSTAT overcomes this potential problem as the test is conducted on site, negating the danger of changes to levels of contamination in the sample caused by transportation at the incorrect temperature.
There are a number of proprietary tests on the market to determine the presence of microbial contamination but many are laboratory-based tests or rely on culture growth and are therefore time consuming. FUELSTAT would appear to be the most simple to use test available on the international market. No special skills are required to use the test and there is no investment needed for a reader to translate the results.
The awareness of fuel contamination has grown in recent years. Many different microorganisms can enter the fuel chain at any stage, living in the water phase and feeding off the fuel. Prolonged, heavy contamination is now an expensive issue, with the possibility of fuel pipeline blockage or corrosion, both of which will require expensive mechanical intervention and significant downtime to clean fuel tanks and ancillary equipment. The majority of operators have concluded that detecting and dealing with this potential problem by testing early is the efficient and cost-effective answer to manage this risk.
