Lab accuracy in your hand
27 July 2010
Oxford RF Sensors launches a hand held Fuel Analyser that measure diesel bio fuel mixtures.
With the rapid growth of bio-fuel use, a simple, rugged and accurate fuel tester is an essential tool for quality assurance through the entire bio-fuel chain from producer to end user.
Taking up this challenge, Oxford RF Sensors developed a hand held battery powered sensor to measure diesel/bio-diesel mixtures that provides real time in field measurements with the same accuracy as laboratory sampling methods.
The sensor measures the amount of bio-diesel in diesel and will also indicate whether the sample contains 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.
With increasing instances of material compatibility problems with FAME products, such as fuel pumps, the measurement of bio ester content in diesel is now a key test parameter for many users. Recent advances in RF sensor technology provide a portable and low cost solution for this measurement.
The robust sensor design is ideally 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. Independent trials show good agreement with laboratory based FTIR methods.
The sensor uses patented RF technology developed in conjunction with the University of Oxford. The sensor will take a reading in 20 seconds and is accurate to within ±1% over the range of bio-diesel concentrations from 0-100%. Accuracy is comparable to standard FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed) spectroscopy measurement and correlates well with standard reference methods.
The unit uses a simple and quick air calibration before each reading and there is no need to calibrate the unit using special calibration fluids.
Furthermore, it 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.
The sensor unit is provided with a multi-region wall charger adapter and can be recharged from any computer via its USB port.
“The great advantage of this device is that it can accurately measure fuel mixtures on the spot. There’s no need to send samples for expensive laboratory analysis. Stanhope Seta, one of our first customers will market it throughout their global distribution chain as Estercheck for diesel/bio diesel (FAME) Mixture Measurement EN 590, ASTM D975. We are now developing versions to measure ethanol/gasoline and oil condition,” enthused Ross Walker CEO of Oxford RF Sensors.
Other plans are for an in-line on vehicle sensor, an ethanol/petrol hand held sensor, and in-line and hand held oil condition sensors. Oxford RF Sensors also has technology for the measurement of water in oil and fuel including jet fuel, AdBlue concentration, and water contamination.
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