The WSI saves users time, money and gives the most reliable results

14th September 2020 | Standard Updates

ASTM D8073/IP 624 and the WSI instrument (SA9000-0) saves users time, money and gives them the most reliable results when testing water separation in jet fuel

The ability of jet fuel to shed water is known as its water separation characteristic. It is important to measure the water separation characteristic as it determines whether the fuel in question contains materials that will disarm or disable the filters. Aviation turbine fuel specifications including ASTM D1655 and ASTM D7566 mandate the testing for surfactants. WSI Water Separation Instrument

Test methods ASTM D8073 and IP 624 provide a rating of the fuel sample by reporting a WSI (water separation index) rating number. The WSI rating adopts the same surfactant scale as existing water separation characteristic methods ASTM D3948 and ASTM D7224. ASTM D8073 was published in 2016 and supports the innovative WSI instrument manufactured by D-2 and Stanhope-Seta.

The WSI instrument has been the subject of the most exhaustive trials ever conducted on Water Separation Instrumentation, proving to show a near 100% accuracy rate in determining separation characteristics of aviation turbine fuels.

The new ASTM D8073 test method and WSI instrument represent a simple alternative to the existing legacy methods which are widely acknowledged to be highly variable, in some cases requiring both repeat and supplemental tests to confirm the results.

The WSI test is not only quick, operators don’t need to be specially trained as, all they need to do is insert the sample and the rest of the procedure is fully automated. Most importantly, time isn’t wasted re-running tests or trying to understand results as the instrument displays a clear result and easy to read graph.

WSI’s fully automatic ‘right first time’ approach, combined with a substantial consumable cost saving per test and in field calibration capabilities, provides substantial savings to refineries and test houses. Additionally the WSI instrument ensures the Water Separation Characteristics of the fuel is reported accurately.

In summary, the WSI instrument makes routine testing of jet fuel for water separation a lot easier. Whether you are responsible for tests in a refinery, storage installation, pipeline breakdown terminal, pre-airport depot, marine receipt terminal or you are an independent test house, ASTM D8073/IP 624 and the WSI (SA9000-0) is here to make testing quicker and easier.

Water separation from refinery to wing