Q8 and BINDER: A Clear View for Quality

Kuwait Petroleum Europoort (KPE), one of the oil-refining companies owned by Kuwait Corporation, is established in the Port of Rotterdam. The modern facilities of the KPE refinery are able to produce a wide range of fuels, base oils, bitumen and other high-quality products. These products are supplied to consumers and users in the fields of transport, chemicals, agriculture, shipping and industry. To guarantee uniform quality, KPE uses the laboratory facilities of Kuwait Petroleum Research & Technology (KPR&T). KPR&T also carries out research to develop and test new products. These products are marketed under the Q8 logo.

BINDER is a market leader in the production of temperature test chambers, environmental chambers, ovens, constant climate chambers and other apparatus. Through our trading partners, we supply a wide range of products to premium businesses, including the laboratories of KPR&T.

KPR&T uses the BINDER KB series refrigerated incubator for the 'haze' test according to ASTM D1003-11. In this test the base oil is stored for several weeks at 4°C to guarantee clarity.

Another test method involves monitoring vapor pressure at approximately 0°C. Vapor pressure is the driving force behind volatility and essentially means “the ability to become airborne”.

Increasingly sophisticated methods are being developed to prevent flock formation in diesel at very low temperatures, especially now that bio-diesel is being used. "Under normal conditions you should not experience any problems with your diesel engine. However, such problems are liable to occur under extreme winter conditions. Bear in mind that in the harsh climate of Scandinavia, for example, temperatures below -40°C are nothing out of the ordinary. Even in Benelux, problems were encountered in the recent hard winter when temperatures dropped below -22°C", says Paul Didelot, Logistics & Safety Advisor at KPR&T.

To carry out exhaustive tests on fuels and improve them, KPR&T uses BINDER environmental chambers from the MK series. The BINDER environmental simulation chamber for temperature cycles with an operating range between -40ºC and 180ºC allows us to carry out extremely accurate work so as to guarantee and improve our quality.

Excellent communication and cooperation between KPR&T and BINDER helps KPR&T to realize its vision," explains Erwin Streefland, Market Manager BINDER Benelux.