Influence of Sample Preparation on Density Measurement of Volatile Fuels
If not handled properly, fuels such as gasoline and diesel may degas during density measurements, leading to drift and poor repeatability. This report demonstrates how sample cooling, direct transfer, and measurement at 15 °C provide stable, reproducible results for reliable quality control.
Gasoline and diesel are widely used hydrocarbon fuels for which density is a key quality parameter, directly related to composition and used for quality control and specification compliance. Accurate and reproducible density measurement is therefore essential in routine laboratory practice.
Due to their volatile components, these fuels are prone to evaporation during handling and measurement, particularly at elevated temperatures. In routine laboratory practice, samples are often stored at room temperature and prepared using open containers such as beakers. Under these conditions, poor repeatability, drifting density values, and elevated standard deviations are frequently observed, even when high-precision density meters are used.
These effects are not caused by instrument limitations, but by insufficient sample preparation and uncontrolled temperature conditions. Evaporation and gas bubble formation inside the measuring cell lead to unstable density results.
This application report presents a robust measurement procedure combining controlled cooling, direct sample transfer, and a measurement temperature of 15 °C to achieve highly repeatable density results for gasoline and diesel. Diesel fuel, composed of higher-boiling hydrocarbons, exhibits significantly lower volatility than gasoline.
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