ASTM D4625 Method for Middle Distillate Fuel Storage Stability at 43°C (110°F)
4. Summary of Test Method
4.1 Four-hundred millilitre volumes of filtered fuel are aged by storage in borosilicate glass containers at 43°C (110°F) for periods of 0, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 weeks. After aging for a selected time period, a sample is removed from storage, cooled to room temperature, and analyzed for filterable insolubles and for adherent insolubles.
5. Significance and Use
5.1 Fuel oxidation and other degradative reactions leading to formation of sediment (and color) are mildly accelerated by the test conditions compared with typical storage conditions. Test results have been shown to predict storage stability more reliably than other more accelerated tests. See Appendix X1 for information on the correlation of test results with actual field storage.
5.2 Because the storage periods are long (4 to 24 weeks), the test method is not suitable for quality control testing, but does provide a tool for research on storage properties of fuels.
5.3 Because environmental effects and the materials and nature of tank construction affect storage stability, the results obtained by this test are not necessarily the same as those obtained during storage in a specific field storage situation.
