Intelligent and Portable Fuel Analysis

Grabner Instruments (Austria), a subsidiary of AMETEK, Inc. has introduced a new portable and highly versatile FTIR spectrometer for the fully automatic measurement of gasoline, diesel and biofuel blends. The MINISCAN IRXpert is the first completely portable fuel analyser that combines superior scanning range and resolution with the advantages of mid-IR and near-IR spectroscopy for highest measurement accuracy. More than 40 fuel parameters are automatically analysed. Designed as an intelligent, self-learning analyser that allows an unlimited number of new fuel parameters to be analysed at the push of a button. 

In the 1990s, Dr. Werner Grabner, founder of Vienna-based Grabner Instruments developed the IROX, the first portable FTIR spectrometer to measure the concentration of oxygenates in gasoline by mid-IR. With 20 years of expertise and feedback from customers around the world, the new MINISCAN IRXpert reflects a paradigm shift to a new level of quality in fuel analysis. The instrument houses an unique dual-cell design spectrometer that offers an extended wavelength range from mid-IR to near-IR, superior resolution and the ability to analyse multiple fuels with a single instrument. Maximum measurement stability is guaranteed through a temperature-controlled measuring cell and density meter. Unmatched accuracy is ensured through the combination of information from the mid-IR and the near-IR spectrum. Instead of a few selected areas, the MINISCAN IRXpert analyses the full spectrum and more than 12,000 data points.

The MINISCAN IRXpert comes fully configured with the ability to test more than 40 important parameters for both laboratory-tested and field-tested fuels. Oxygenates, aromatics, benzene, octane boosters and cetane improvers, and biodiesel content are measured with unprecedented precision. A number of key fuel properties, such as octane and cetane number, vapour pressure and distillation properties are accurately predicted, by utilising a worldwide sample database and by combining the information from the mid-IR and near-IR spectrum range derived from a high-resolution scan.

With the worldwide problem of fuel adulteration, the MINISCAN IRXpert was designed from the beginning with flexibility in mind. An unlimited number of new fuel parameters and samples may be added to the analyser. Advanced chemometrics automatically create an optimum model for these new parameters. With only a few clicks newly measured samples can be added to the database and a new model created.

MINISCAN IRXpert is genuinely easy to operate. Menu Navigation is done on a robust 8.4” full-colour touch screen. The button size has been optimised for operating the analyser with the fingers. Spectra can be analysed, zoomed and compared directly on a high-resolution screen. All sample spectra are stored in the instrument database for convenient review. The instrument features WORKS™ – Worldwide Online Remote Control and Services – and offers LIMS data transfer via Ethernet and USB as well.