Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) News
Printer Friendly VersionNew petroleum chemistry facility to help improve efficiency, increase work volume
Analysts to test more than 97,000 samples per year
San Antonio -- November 25, 1996 -- A new petroleum chemistry facility at Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) helps the nation's major oil companies confirm that what leaves their refineries and lubricant manufacturing plants is what the consumer gets at the service station.
All major American oil companies participate in analyses programs to identify basic characteristics in fuels, transmission fluids, antifreeze, brake fluids, and other automotive lubricants. These analyses help ensure that manufacturers are meeting industry standards, government regulations, and advertised claims.
The new facility centralizes numerous chemical analyses tasks, increasing the handling efficiency of the thousands of samples tested and allowing all testing to be performed under one roof. "SwRI processes the largest volume of samples in the most comprehensive fuel analysis facility in the United States," says Harry Dietzmann, Petroleum Products Research Department. "Other organizations provide similar services, but they don't analyze near the number of samples we do."
More than 265 fuel and lubricant samples pass through the facility each day. With several tests being conducted on each sample, the department averages more than 980 tests per day -- that's more than 97,000 samples and 358,000 tests each year.
"With 45,530 square feet of office and laboratory space and updated procedures and equipment, this is truly a world-class facility. It allows us to extend our fuel sampling service to the rest of the world, which becomes increasingly important as the number of cars outside of North America continues to rise," he says. The facility's centralized capabilities will also allow the staff to integrate computerized data collection procedures into a single large system.
Other services performed in the new facility include analyses
of diesel and gasoline lubricants, gasoline analyses for fleet testing, and specification
testing for new fuels, transmission fluids, and lubricants.
For more information about the petroleum chemistry facility, contact Maria Martinez, Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, Phone (210) 522-3305, Fax (210) 522-3547.
