Life cycle of AF fuel: the cleaner, the better

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  (Editor's note: this is part two of a three part series about Eglin's petroleum, oil and lubricants flight.)

Fuel contamination can bring a base's mission to a halt. Too much water or sediment in the Air Force's primary fuel, JP-8, is the same as having no fuel at all. That's why the JP-8 is constantly sampled and tested throughout its life cycle to ensure the quality matches the massive quantities used to put Eglin's aircraft in the sky.

These quality assurance and contamination procedures are executed daily by the Airmen of the 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron's fuels lab, part of the Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants flight. The lab tests more than 200 aviation and ground fuel samples each month.

"It's our mission is to make sure all of our fuel is up to specifications and is doing what it's supposed to be doing even while it is aging," said Tech. Sgt. Seth Dempcy, of the fuels lab.

Many of the tests performed on the fuel require examination of the components that make up JP-8.

"Jet fuel is a much more refined version of diesel fuel," said Dempcy, an 11-year POL veteran. "Three specific additives are introduced to Jet-A fuel to make JP-8."

The three additives are: fuel system icing inhibitor, which prevents the formation of ice in fuel lines; static dissipater, which keeps the fuel from creating an electrical charge as it moves; and a corrosion inhibitor, which acts as a lubricant inside an engine.

Before any fuel enters Eglin's storage tanks, fuels lab Airmen have to sample and test it.

A clear quart jar is used to pull a composite sample from the 16-foot depths of the fuel barge that arrives at Eglin with the JP-8. The lab technicians shake the bottle of JP-8 to create a vortex inside. The vortex picks up any visible sediment and water that could be at the bottom of the jar. This visual test is done on all six compartments of the barge, before the fuel can even begin to be offloaded.

If the visual tests are clear, the fuel offloading can begin, but there are still tests to be run.

Two gallon-sized fuel samples are taken from the barge to test the JP-8's density and solids content. Fuels lab Airmen test one of the samples immediately. The other is boxed up and shipped to the main East Coast fuels lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Three more gallon-sized samples are pulled and tested during the fuel offload from the barge. Samples are taken in the first 30 minutes, halfway and in the last hour of the fuel transfer.

The fuel entering Eglin via the barge and exiting the base through an aircraft engine is filtered twice throughout its lifespan on base. It is filtered once before entering Eglin's bulk storage and once more before entering a fuel truck. The filter separators are sampled and tested with each fuel delivery and monthly using the gallon-sized container.

The test completed on the gallon-sized containers taken at the barge, filter separators and trucks is called the bottle method. It is the most frequent and thorough test done by the fuels lab. The test is accomplished by pouring the gallon bottle of JP-8 into another canister via a funnel. A series of vacuum hoses pull the fuel out of the funnel and through a filter.

"We're looking for solids in the fuel and how quickly it filters through," said Airman 1st Class Troy Hall, a new POL Airman who's learning the lab procedures as part of his upgrade training.

The filter is weighed before it is used in the bottle method and weighed again afterward. The difference between the two is the amount of solids in the fuel. The weight needs to be at or below .5 milligrams per liter.

The fuels lab is continuously searching for water within the fuel. A water detection device tests a small amount of JP-8 for percentage of water contained in the fuel. The standard water to fuel ratio is 10 parts per million. The samples need to indicate that ratio or smaller to be usable.

"In the fuels management business, our number one enemy is water," said Capt. James Martinelli, the POL flight commander.

Clear quart jar samples taken at the barge, filter separators and trucks are used for various tests including testing the three additives making up JP-8. Small samples are taken from the jar and measured to determine if the additive amounts are within the predetermined ranges.

A special additive placed in the JP-8 fuel of all of Eglin's aircraft is Plus-100. The additive, developed by the Air Force Research Lab, is a fuel injector cleaner additive consisting of detergent, dispersant, metal deactivators and an antioxidant.

"Plus-100 helps reduce the wear and tear on the aircraft's engine and cuts down on maintenance cost and time," said Martinelli. It's designed to reduce carbon build-up in the engine and burn better at higher altitudes."

The Plus-100 is added directly to the JP-8 when the fuel is pumped from Eglin's operational storage tank to the tank truck. The fuel that powers those tank trucks is also evaluated by fuels lab Airmen.

Eglin's diesel fuel supply is sampled and tested using the bottle method testing once a month.

For the Airmen who work most directly with the JP-8, safety is a critical.

Precautions and safety gear are adhered to when taking fuel samples or testing in the lab. No more than 10 gallons of fuel can be in the lab at one time and latex gloves and goggles must be worn at all times when handling the fuel. To be completely certified in the fuels lab, Airmen must attend a three-week DOD laboratory school in Virginia.

After the JP-8 is received, tested and verified for quality, the next step in the lifecycle of the blood of the Air Force is delivery to the aircraft and through the afterburner.