Rapid Field Test Method(s) to Measure Additives in Military Fuel

The primary goal of the Phase I project “Rapid Field Test Methods to Measure Additives in Military Fuel” was to investigate and develop practical methods to measure the concentration of the corrosion inhibitor/lubricity improver (CI/LI) additive. The most common CI/LI additive is dilinoleic acid which is chemically similar to many other components of the military fuel. This similarity makes it very difficult to measure the concentration of CI/LI without using a separation technique. During this Phase I project we developed a practical solid phase extraction (SPE) technique to separate and concentrate the CI/LI. At the end of Phase I we had developed a reagent free approach that uses temperature to perform the final separation of the CI/LI and an analysis technique that measures the concentration of CO2 vapors given off by the CI/LI during heating as a measure of the conecentration of the CI/LI in the sample. The Phase II project proposes to further develop this novel reagent free approach into a small, lightweight field instrument. The proposal details the development and testing of the various components of the system and the integration of the components into a robust field instrument.