Sulfur in Jet Fuel by ASTM D4294

Background

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that in 2017 alone, more than 4 billion passengers traveled by air. It is estimated that air transport will reach global growth of over 7 billion passengers by 2035. Standard jet fuel specifications are used to ensure that wherever a plane is fueled, it can continue to operate safely. Common jet fuel specifications are shown in Table 1. Jet fuel specifications require total sulfur content to be less than 0.30 wt%. In order to comply, refinery and independent laboratories rely on standard test methods such as ASTM D4294 and ISO 8754. These labs operate in fast-paced environments that require rapid, precise results and are increasingly relying on solutions that provide simple and direct integration with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). 

In this study, certified standards were analyzed to demonstrate the expected performance of Petra utilizing ASTM D4294 methodology for jet fuel.

• Sulfur in mineral oil standards were used to calibrate following ASTM D4294 and ISO 8754 methods using a single curve from 10 ppm to 6.0 wt%
• A certified standard in a matrix similar to jet fuel with a concentration of 0.1 wt% was obtained
• Samples were prepared by transferring 7 mL to a 43 mm XRF sample cup and sealed with Mylar film
• Separate aliquots were prepared and analyzed for 100 seconds each
• Individual measurement results and average are reported in Table 2