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wish i could remember those formulae , or i will have to search in some old text book.

or without using a hydrometer , take known volume of diesel, in a container of known weight , find mass and divide by volume to find density.

The Density ( = Specific Gravity) of Diesel will hardly change even if 10 to 15% SKO (Superior Kerosene Oil) is mixed into it ! Substantial changes in density will occur only if excessively large quantities of SKO are mixed in HSD (High Speed Diesel).

DENSITY IS A POOR TEST FOR DETECTING ADULTERATION OF DIESEL WITH KEROSENE.
:Shockked:??

Please tell us whether there is a simple and practical method to determine such adulteration.

And what about adulteration with naphtha? I believe that is totally undetectable at the pumps by any method at all, and can only be determined in the lab by fractionation.

Interesting topic. After I bought a diesel car, I have become very specific of filling her up at selected pumps only. I dont know the tests but:

1) Car starts pluming black smoke at 2300 rpm. I guess that happens when the fuel is mixed?

2) cleaner fuel starts pluming at 3000 rpm.

I might be wrong and the above method might be rubbish but thats what I do.

In Mumbai 99% of the time, I fill her up at Ballard Estate (Karan Shah Pump) & Turner Rd (Bandra)

Once I filled her up in Dahisar as I was extremely low on fuel and it was smoking like a chimney.

P.S - Is it me or someone else has noticed this, my car becomes smooth when filled up adulterated fuel. lol

Pluming black smoke in a common rail diesel engine at whatever rpm (esp. if it's a new car) is almost definitely due to adulterated diesel. The ONLY (not-so-quick) way to detect adulteration is by checking tankful-to-tankful mileage (or else, we need a chemistry lab to prove it).

Smoke from the tailpipe can persist for some time due to carbon deposits in the muffler, even after bad diesel in the tank was replaced with good.

Filled with adulterated diesel, the engine might actually sound smoother and less clattery because of carbon build-up on the valves, manifolds, exhaust and mufflers. And driven sedately, it actually feels quite smooth to drive too! Been through that too...

Kerosene is a lighter distillate of crude than diesel; between petrol and diesel. Kerosene aur diesel to bhai- bhai hain! So it's impossible to just smell and tell. Differentiating requires expensive and extensive laboratory testing.

Kerosene is also blended into diesel by oil companies themselves ('upgrading' or 'downgrading' product a.k.a. 'adulteration' if done outside a refinery) to
1. Increase the yield of diesel from crude as per demand/supply requirement.
2. Improve the performance of diesel in low temperatures.
3. Increasing profitability of the refining process.

Kerosene is also known as 'Superior' Kerosene Oil or SKO. So it is actually 'superior to diesel'. You know, it's actually used to fly aircraft and jets. It's also a part of rocket fuel. So what's good for aircraft/jets/rockets is definitely good for your car! lol:

Kerosene generates more heat and burns dry. Lack of lubrication will damage the Bosch pump. Kerosene also corrodes rubber parts quickly.

There was some hope of a simple test two years ago: Authentix. I will explain this in the next post.

You didn't mention about the effects of adulteration of diesel with naphtha.

I was just overwhelmed with the irony of this thread - an ENT surgeon explaining to a dentist the finer points of fuel adulteration...lol: :uncontrol

A marker was tested over the last two years ago to detect even minute mixing of subsidised kerosene in higher-priced diesel and petrol.

This designer molecule was imported from Authentix (a British firm), at a cost of more than Rs 150 crore per year. Authentix had claimed initially that the marker could not be tampered with.

This marker was colourless. As per Law, all Kerosene had to be spiked with this marker at the refinery gate. 0.5 ml is added per 1000 liters of Kerosene. All PDS Kerosene has to be dyed blue. When kerosene with marker is used to adulterate fuel, it shows up as pink when used with a specific reagent.

A private agency carried out 184,889 inspections, but only 204 pump samples and only 242 tank truck samples failed, a failure rate of only 0.1 percent ! A study published by NCAER (National Council for Applied Economic Research) in 2006 indicated that Kerosene adulteration was 38.6%.

Why did Authentix fail? :confused:
Petrol Dealers informed and the Oil Companies R&D confirmed that this marker was easily removed by straining the fuel through natural clay ! In fact, even the blue dye was removed !!

The Petroleum Ministry had no choice but to discontinue the Authentix marker after amending the control orders on fuel. :Frustrati

Fact: India consumed 9.35 million tonnes of PDS Kerosene in 2007-08 @ Rs. 9.09 per liter. Please refer to the threads:
1. 'The fuel price thread: Update-Petrol prices reduced by Rs.5, diesel by Rs.2'
2. 'Best places to fill up'.

Now that is some serious R&D!
Don't mess with them! :D

So, were all the tanker loads of fuel stained through natural clay before filling the tanks of fuel pumps in order to remove the marker and thus avoid detection of adulteration? How can it be practical?

I don't seem to be able to elicit any information from the oil co. sources as to the use of Authentix in India a couple of years ago. Could you please give us some more details as to when this was used and for what period? Also, any media reports exist about this?

Thanks, what I like about this forum is that members try to understand each and every minute detail. And response times is really quick.

Just like Kerosene is a lighter distillate than Diesel, Naptha is a lighter distillate of crude than Petrol; between light gases and Petrol. Another 'cousin' in 'relative' terms. Since a petrol engine is not tuned for Naptha, combustion will be worse and cause excessive carbon deposits.

Ideal combustion ends with production of CO2 and H20. Incomplete combustion leaves excess C (carbon) atoms that get deposited.

On the other hand, Kerosene in Petrol lowers the octane rating of the mixture and will cause 'knocking'.

Both types of adulteration are harmful to the engine leading to frequent repairs. Naptha also contains traces of benzene (C6H6) which is a known carcinogen. Hence they are harmful to humans, animals and cause environmental pollution leading to long term exposure. Central and State taxes and revenue are lost. So the true fiscal damage is beyond calculation.:)

On an average, the consumption pattern of petroleum products in India estimated by PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Association) is as follows:

Transport (Petrol, Diesel, CNG, Aviation Fuel) : 51%
Industry (Petrol, Diesel, Fuel Oil, Naphtha, Natural Gas): 14%
Commercial & Others : 13%
Domestic (LPG & Kerosene): 18%
Agriculture (Diesel): 4%

TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) and NCAER estimates place PDS Kerosene diversion at an average of 30%.

This means in a worst case scenario, about 3 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) out of an estimated total hydrocarbon use of 155 MMT in India per annum. (2006 figures) That's about 300,000 Kl (Kilo liters = 1000 litre & density of Kerosene is 0.8) per month across India.

There are now about 40,000 Petrol Pumps in India. That works out to about 7.5 Kl per month per Petrol Pump.

The average throughput or sale per Retail Outlet / Petrol Pump in India is between 150 to 275 Kl per month.

So all Petrol pumps obviously cannot be adulterating fuel with Kerosene. Relax, there just isn't enough available! :D

And no one transports 1000 litres at a time. It means that about 25,000 tank truck loads of diverted Kerosene per month across India. So there must about 600 tank trucks of diverted PDS Kerosene per day across India ! (assuming one tank truck makes only one trip per day and average capacity 16 Kl).

I once met a Highway Petrol Dealer who insisted that he never mixed fuel in his underground tanks: He sold only pure Kerosene at night and filled and sold only pure Diesel during the day !! lol:

This is current news: please try the link below:

Tamper-proof kerosene: there’s proof it can be tampered

I was, however, closely involved in marker research and have seen these incidents unfold in real time. In fact, a Petrol Dealer from Mumbai introduced the concept of marker system to the Indian Oil Industry.
The then Hon. Petroleum Minister Shri Ram Naik, admonished the crestfallen Oil Industry Officials after that presentation to the Ministry. His words were: " The Petrol Dealers are telling me about what you should have told me first !"

One of the early contacts was with the firm Rohm & Haas, (USA). Extensive field usage has been done through Vashi Supply Terminal. Many BHP-ians must have unknowingly filled this marked fuel. Reading was through a spectrometer.
Fuel samples were checked, but Petrol Dealers were kept in the dark. Then, in the NCR, 4 Petrol Pumps were to share a spectrometer kit. This had to be fought for as the Oil Companies were doping the fuel but not letting Petrol Dealers to check before decanting the tank truck supply into their underground tanks.

Other markers under active consideration are from firms like
1. BASF (Germany), Marker: Sudan 77A
2. GFI (Israel), Marker: Petromark
3. UCM (USA). Marker: 1494DB

You must be wondering how so much information is available and still your oil company sources are ignorant. Adulteration is a worldwide problem. Naptha adulteration was a big problem in Australia! Oil Companies abroad also use exclusive markers to differentiate their own product and to ensure that Petrol Pump contracts are honored.

The hunt for an ideal fuel marker in India is still on !:thumbs up