Ammonia smell in fuel

[tigers2007]

I took on 22 gallons this morning and when I sampled it I smell ammonia. DEF contamination?

 

 

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[jaylw314]

Somebody or something peed in the tank? 

[MBDiagMan]

Gunpowder?

[takair]

1 hour ago, tigers2007 said:

 

I took on 22 gallons this morning and when I sampled it I smell ammonia. DEF contamination?

 

 

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Good discussion on Beech Talk ref. DEF contamination in Jet A ref recent near accident.  Don’t know what it smells like, but it contains water and may settle to the sump.  Have you reported to the FBO so they can test?

[MinneMooney]

DEF is a solution of urea and water. It does have an ammonia odor.

[jaylw314]

14 minutes ago, MinneMooney said:

DEF is a solution of urea and water. It does have an ammonia odor.

urea is odorless and pretty stable.  If bacteria get to it and break it down, though, that will produce ammonia.  

[MinneMooney]

9 minutes ago, jaylw314 said:

urea is odorless and pretty stable.  If bacteria get to it and break it down, though, that will produce ammonia.  

Urea solid, yes, but a solution does have an ammonia odor, just take a look at any DEF msds.

 

[jaylw314]

15 minutes ago, MinneMooney said:

Urea solid, yes, but a solution does have an ammonia odor, just take a look at any DEF msds.

Well, okay, bacteria that produce the enzyme that breaks down urea are pretty ubiquitous, but pure urea itself in solution starts out odorless.  As the solution gets older and older, it will smell more and more of ammonia as bacteria break it down more.  If it started with a lot of bacteria, it will break down faster.  Stinky goodness! 

Edited June 20, 2019 by jaylw314

[takair]

The danger with DEF, as I learned from BT, is that the urea comes out of solution and clogs the fuel filter...at least that’s what happens in Jet fuel.  It is also apparently quite corrosive and requires purging of the fuel system.  It is a serious problem if introduced to a fuel system.  Hopefully this is not the case and there is some other explanation.

[DXB]

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/may/22/new-def-fuel-contamination-incidents-reported

Yikes certainly worth investigating.

How would DEF make it into a 100LL tank at an FBO?  If it did, shouldn't it be much more soluble in the water than in the gas and thus get mostly drained off when the tank gets sumped? If crystalizes in gas, then shouldn't the settling crystals be apparent when sumping also?  No clue... not a chemist.

[tigers2007]

Well I took a fuel sample to the FBO to sniff test at a different airport and they definitely said it was like an ammonia smell. When I took a sample to staff at my home airport and where I got the fuel, three different staff members said it smelled fine. It did seem to lose the strong pungent ammonia-like smell. It stinks terribly in my fuel tank though. The official word right now from the FBO is that it is normal.


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