ASTM approves guide for microbial contamination of turbine oils
ASTM International will soon publish ASTM D8506 Standard Guide for Microbial Contamination and Biodeterioration in Turbine Oils and Turbine Oil Systems.
The first draft of what has now been approved as D8506 began in 2013 under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D02, under the direct responsibility of D02.C0 on Turbine Oils, Section D02.C0.01 on Turbine Oil Condition Monitoring.
Around that time, D02.C0 members requested some mention of microbiological contamination in D4378 Standard Practice for In-Service Monitoring of Mineral Turbine Oils for Steam, Gas, and Combined Cycle Turbines. Graham Hill of ECHA Microbiology Ltd. and Fred Passman of Biodeterioration Control Associates collaborated to draft a short new section for inclusion in D4378. Similar sections were later added to D6224 Standard Practice for In-Service Monitoring of Lubricating Oil for Auxiliary Power Plant Equipment and D8112 Standard Guide for Obtaining In-Service Samples of Turbine Operation Related Lubricating Fluid.
D8506 was approved in May 2023. D02 Ballot 23-01 was the second time the guide was balloted within the main D02 committee. Previously it had been balloted several times at subcommittee D02.C0.
According to Passman, the lead author of D8506, the new guide will be useful to turbine oil suppliers, engineers responsible for power generator oil systems and operator chemists for turbine oil condition monitoring.
Guides are a compendia of information or series of options that do not recommend specific courses of action. Their primary role is to create awareness. In contrast, specifications are explicit sets of requirements to be satisfied by materials, products, systems, or services. Both are developed within ASTM using the same consensus process.
