A Good Choice for Haze Determination Achieves ASTM D8148-17 Designation

Choice Analytical Inc.’s technique and instrumentation have been designated as the ASTM D8148-17 Standard Test Method for the spectroscopic determination of haze in fuels. This new test method and instruments, The Choice Analytical Clarity Choice hz and Color Choice hz, provide an efficient and effective alternative to the highly subjective visual grading method D4176 Procedure 2, which is currently being used in the majority of laboratories across the world.

“The achievement of obtaining the ASTM method is a significant step in the continued growth of the Choice Analytical Inc. full line of automated Haze and Color instruments,” said Choice Analytical president Ranzy Morgan.

The ASTM D8148-17 method involves a spectroscopic procedure, which determines the level of suspended water and/or particulate contamination, or haze, in liquid light and middle distillate fuels, including those blended with synthesized hydrocarbons or biofuels.

In addition to the conventional haze rating system, the ASTM D8148-17 method provides its user with a much more definitive Haze Clarity Index (HCI). This index breaks the clarity of the fuel into a proprietary 100-50 rating scale, with 100 as the most optically clear.

“By providing both the 1-6 scale familiar to the industry along with the 100-50 Haze Clarity Index (HCI), the Choice Analytical systems allow fuel producers and transporters to move away from the highly subjective jars and bar charts and truly move Haze measurement into the 21st century,” said Morgan.

The Choice Analytical Clarity Choice hz and Color Choice hz use a unique set of optics to achieve unparalleled precision in what was formally a decades old visual rating system.