A STUDY OF EXISTING BASE FUEL HANDLING PROCEDURES IN RELATION TO MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION

Abstract

A survey of the JP-4 fuel handling facilities and procedures at three Air Force bases has indicated no serious contamination, microbial or otherwise. The water bottoms throughout the fuel systems were either sterile or contained very few microorganisms, with appreciable counts observed only on a single sample from each base. The general housekeeping and observance of prescribed fuel handling procedures appeared adequate. Experimental studies were made of microbial growth in 4000-gallon tanks and in 15-gallon drums, in which JP-4 fuel was stored over dilute sea water with varying proportions of glycerin and methoxyethanol, inoculated with selected microorganisms. Effective inhibition of growth was observed in water bottoms containing 20% methoxyethanol, and some inhibition with 10% methoxyethanol; lower concentrations allowed vigorous growth. It was found that the addition of 20% methoxyethanol effectively sterilized the contents of a tank in which growth was already established.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1964
Accession Number
AD0603852

Entities

People

  • F. W. Bieberdorf
  • J. C. Tyler
  • R. D. Brown
  • R. G. Weichlein
  • Robert K. Johnston

Organizations

  • Southwest Research Institute

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Alkanes
  • Chemistry
  • Drops
  • Fungi
  • Gases
  • Hydrocarbon Fuels
  • Jet Engine Fuels
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Measurement
  • Medical Personnel
  • Separators
  • Test Facilities

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology