Aviation Fuel

Servicing aviation fuel is a completely different animal than anything else in the service landscape because of the strict limitations on what can be added to aviation fuel.

In non-aviation fuel situations, servicers have a much broader array of weapons in their arsenal, to add to aviation fuel - stabilizers, biocides, and water control agents. But very few things are legally approved to be added to aviation fuel (and for good reason). For example, on-road diesel users who need to remediate microbial contamination problems have their choice of at least 6-7 different biocide chemistries, each with multiple trade name versions to choose from.  They have an array of choices they can use to eradicate microbes. Of course, some of these choices are better than others, so they’re not all the same, but that’s a different story.  By contrast, in aviation fuel, there’s only one biocide approved for use in aviation fuel if they have a microbe problem. That’s it. As for the other kinds of common fuel problem solvers, the choices are even fewer.  There are no approved stabilizers or water control chemistries that may be added. So the situation is markedly more narrow for aviation fuel.

In the past few years, the problems of microbial contamination in aviation fuel and fuel systems have been recognized in the industry as an area of concern. For aviation fuel users and servicers, it’s really important to monitor microbial growth in these areas. Aircraft OEMs like Dassault and Gulfstream recognize this and now require regular microbial testing to maintain warranty compliance.  They require this because it is increasingly being recognized that not only is microbial growth a substantial problem in aviation systems, not solving the microbe problem opens them up to problems like the compromising of critical sealant and polymer materials by microbial growth.

For the aviation sector, Bell Performance offers Fuel Pulse ATP testing - the best microbial testing method on the market. 

Advantage: Fast Results For Real-Time Critical Decisions

Fuel Pulse ATP testing enables microbial testing to be completed onsite, even in the hangar during scheduled or emergency maintenance of the planes. Results are delivered in less than five minutes, giving technicians and managers the ability to make real-time business decisions on what to do next.  This contrasts favorably with culture tests where results are not determined for multiple days, making them useless for service situations where decisions must be made quickly.

Easy To Interpret Results

Not only are Fuel Pulse ATP results fast, they’re qualitative, specific and easy to interpret.  Fuel Pulse users know what their result numbers are and don’t need to rely on visual interpretation and the uncertainty that brings.

Convenient and Cost Effective

Fuel Pulse ATP tests are available in many forms, including in all-inclusive 5- and 10-test kits with all the supplies needed to get started.  On a per-test basis, Fuel Pulse ATP testing meets or beats the financial costs of other, less robust, and less convenient tests.

Before microbial contamination becomes a serious issue in your aircraft, let us help you get ahead of it with Fuel Pulse ATP testing for aviation fuel systems.

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