Microbiogical Contamination in JP-8 Fuel

JP-8 is a versatile kerosene-based aviation turbine fuel and is interchanged within NATO Code Number F-34. The U.S. military and NATO Nations have used JP-8 fuel for several decades as a single fuel. Recently, there were increasingly concerns about the microbiological contamination in JP-8 fuel. Many military installations often observe microorganism growth in JP-8 fuel storage tanks with water contamination. This microorganism growth can sometimes lead to operational problems such as cloudy fuel and filter blocking, and cause corrosion problem as well as give an unpleasant odor.

To address those concerns, a study was undertaken to determine the environmental fate and biodegradation of JP-8 fuel under the aquatic environments. The test results showed that JP-8 fuel had less biodegradability than diesel fuel due to its higher aromatics and lower saturate hydrocarbon content. Even though JP-8 fuel has a low biodegradability, it still allows microbiological growth to occur whenever free water is present in the fuel. This paper covers an overview of microbiology on hydrocarbon fuels, and discusses the results of biodegradation tests, the efficacy of biocide on JP-8 fuel, and findings.