Fast and Accurate Biofuel Analysis

The Irox FTIR from Grabner Instruments (Austria) analyses fuel for fully automatic, fast, reliable and portable fuel testing. IROX measures the entire mid-IR spectrum and provides comprehensive and highly accurate information about fuel composition. It consists of more than 30 different components, as well as important parameters such as octane and cetane numbers, and RVP. Distillation properties are accurately assessed by the instrument.

The Irox is efficient, portable and precise. Tests from independent laboratories confirm the high accuracy and reproducibility of Irox test results, which is comparable to results achieved by methods far more expensive, such as GC, NMR or knock engines. Irox does not need initial separation of chemical compounds, advanced analytical training for operation or in depth application knowledge on petrochemical testing; Irox comes fully configured for testing fuels right from the street. The measurement of the entire mid-IR absorption spectrum, the built-in density meter and the unique mathematical models for parameter prediction make the Irox a superior mid-IR fuel analyser to determine fuel composition and properties.

Irox monitors biofuels content (e.g. FAME according to EN 14078) and accurately reports octane and cetane number in fuels from various feed stock. Delivering fast and precise results, the analyser is ideal for routine quality checks and fit for research applications. Studies from the Institute of Chemical Engineering of the Vienna University for Technology confirm that “The octane number values from the portable Irox 2000 gasoline analyser perform with the reference standard test engine within the accepted deviation field. Even the tendency of increasing bio oil series fits with a sufficient accuracy compared with the reference results. Therefore the analyser tool is appropriate for quick quality checks of FCC-gasoline produced from different feedstock compositions with vegetable oil contents” (*).

The Irox is robust, reliable and proven. Over two decades, Grabner Instrument’s fully automatic Irox FTIR-spectrometer has proven robust and effective in refineries, pipeline companies, independent test laboratories and environmental enforcement agencies; to ensure quality and compliance all over the world. With its accuracy, it finds its place on the lab bench. Its small size and portability make it the first choice for screening samples out in the field. For best turnaround and to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination between fuels, separate models for gasoline and for diesel analysis are available.

(*) Vienna University of Technology, Octane number measuring of Crack Gasoline Fractions via
Gasoline Analysator IROX 2000, Technical Paper, 2009