Overview
Arbok-JFR is a single-stage vacuum-cracking module that replaces the entire eighty-year-old chain of airfield kerosene filtration. It removes solid particles down to 30 nm, eliminates free and dissolved water, inactivates all organic contamination — fungi, bacteria, spores and their metabolic products — strips dissolved oxygen and ammonium, and restores the molecular state of the fuel to that of a fresh refinery batch. It uses no consumables, no biocides, no membranes, no cartridges and no filter media. Input can be kerosene or diesel in any condition, including fuel contaminated with sand and dust, infected with biofilm, or stored past its rated shelf life in hot-climate tanks.
Applications
Fuel grades addressed: Jet A-1, JP-8, JP-5, civil and military diesel, and heavy fuel oil in downstream applications.
Military aviation is the primary case, including operations from airbases in hot, dusty regions. Commercial aviation faces the same standards, the same clay treatment and the same risks. Beyond aviation: mining and quarry equipment — dump trucks and excavators remote from infrastructure; remote telecom generators numbering in the thousands of sites across a continent; marine bunkering and heavy fuel, where fleet scale multiplies absolute losses; agricultural equipment, particularly in the Sahel and Australia, where by the end of the dry season a full microbial ecosystem lives in the tank.
Geographies of acute need: Persian Gulf, West Texas, North Africa, Sahel, Central Australia, Middle East airbases — any combination of heat, dust and long storage. In these conditions the tank breathes through its valves as temperature swings from +45 °C to +15–20 °C daily, drawing in humid air; condensate settles to the bottom layer and a microbial ecosystem establishes itself within weeks.
Operating Principle
- Fuel flows into the vacuum chamber.
- Vacuum imposes hypertonic shock on all living cells, spores and bacterial biofilms — the organic load is destroyed rather than suppressed.
- Dissolved O₂ and NH₃ are removed in parallel — the substances that feed microflora and catalyse autoxidative degradation of hydrocarbons.
- In Vacuum Cracking mode the molecular state of the kerosene is restored to freshly refined condition, including breakdown of peroxides, gums and precursors of solid deposits.
- All solid particles precipitate inside the unit, including fractions down to 30 nm — roughly 3,000 times finer than a human hair.
- Free and dissolved water is separated and, where required, routed to a separate vessel.
- Output is 100 % clean fuel. A built-in in-line chemical and bacteriological laboratory runs 24/7, transmitting telemetry by GPS or cable to the cockpit or operator console.
Key Parameters
| Parameter | Classical scheme | Arbok-JFR |
|—|—|—|
| Consumables | clay, cartridges, biocides | none |
| Filtration fineness | 3–10 µm absolute | down to 30 nm |
| Free water at outlet | <15 ppm (ATA 103) | effectively 0 |
| Biological contamination | suppressed by biocides; microbes develop resistance | full inactivation (vacuum, hypertonic shock) |
| O₂ and NH₃ removal | none | full |
| Molecular balance restoration | impossible | yes, via Arbok-VC |
| Storage life after treatment | formally 36 months for JP-8 | unlimited |
| Energy | multi-stage chain with element replacement | a few cents per m³ |
| Waste disposal | classed as hazardous | none |
| Monitoring | periodic sampling | in-line chemical-bacteriological lab, 24/7, GPS/cable telemetry |
Architecture and Components
Vacuum chamber with cracking mode; solids precipitation section; water separation and routing to dedicated vessel; degassing stage for O₂ and NH₃ removal; in-line chemical and bacteriological laboratory operating 24/7 with GPS or cable telemetry to cockpit or operator console. No filter media, no cartridges, no membranes and no chemical dosing equipment.
Advantages
Technical: filtration to 30 nm against 3–10 µm for filter-separators; free water reduced to effectively zero against the 15 ppm ATA 103 threshold; biology destroyed rather than suppressed, so no resistance develops as it does against Kathon FP and Biobor JF; removal of dissolved oxygen and ammonium, which no conventional stage addresses; molecular restoration, which is impossible in the classical chain.
Economic: OPEX falls to electricity plus scheduled maintenance, on the order of a few cents per cubic metre of treated fuel; CAPEX is a one-time module installation. In logistical terms this is not a 20 % improvement but the removal of an entire service infrastructure.
Operational: storage life after treatment becomes unlimited, against a formal 36-month limit for JP-8; hazardous waste disposal drops to zero.
Integrations
Arbok-JFR is an applied configuration of the general ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking) core, tuned to the aviation kerosene profile. Adjacent configurations of the same core address desalination, oil sludge processing, long-term energy storage and ballast water treatment.
ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking) · LONG BATTERY · ARBOK-BLACKSAND · ARBOK-ORR (Oil Regeneration & Recover)
Replaces in the existing chain: gravity settling in cone-bottom tanks; Fuller's Earth activated clay cartridges; API/EI 1581 filter-separators; API/IP 1583 filter monitors with super-absorbent polymer, a standard withdrawn by the Energy Institute in 2020; routine ASTM D6469 and IP 385 sampling; Kathon FP 1.5, Biobor JF and similar biocides; manual pre-flight sump draining; periodic microbiological tank cleaning.
Deployment & Operation
Single-module installation into the fuel handling line. Operation is continuous with no consumable replacement cycle and no biocide dosing schedule. The in-line laboratory provides continuous quality telemetry, removing the need for manual sampling regimes.
Relevant standards: API/EI 1581, API/IP 1583, EI 1590, ATA 103, ASTM D1655, ASTM D6469, DEF STAN 91-91, IP 385.
Referenced microorganisms: Hormoconis resinae, Cladosporium resinae, Pseudomonas, Bacillus.
TRL
TRL 9 — ready for deployment.
Market Potential
Every airbase, airport, mining operation, remote generator site and agricultural fleet in a hot, dusty region carries the same problem, and the current answer is an eighty-year-old chain of consumables and biocides against which microbes develop resistance. The addressable base spans military aviation, commercial aviation, mining equipment, remote telecom generation, marine bunkering and agriculture, with acute need concentrated in the Persian Gulf, West Texas, North Africa, the Sahel, Central Australia and Middle East airbases.
Typical Project Economics
For a single mid-sized airbase in a dusty, hot region, annual operating costs under the classical scheme run firmly into six figures in euros. Two documented direct-loss items alone:
| Item | Cost |
|—|—|
| One round of microbiological cleaning, 10 Jet A-1 tanks | €400,000 |
| Repair of two helicopters with contaminated fuel systems | €250,000 (≈€125,000 per aircraft) |
After switching to Arbok-JFR, OPEX reduces to electricity plus scheduled maintenance — on the order of a few cents per cubic metre of treated fuel. CAPEX is the one-time module installation.
Risk Factors
Adoption requires displacing a certified, standards-embedded filtration chain (API/EI 1581, API/IP 1583, ATA 103) in an industry where deviation from established procedure carries flight-safety liability — qualification against those standards is the gating issue rather than technical performance. Military and civil aviation fuel handling is conservative by design. Claims of 30 nm filtration, full biological inactivation and unlimited post-treatment storage life will require independent verification before airfield acceptance.
Related Technologies
ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking) · ARBOK-ORR (Oil Regeneration & Recover) · LONG BATTERY · ARBOK-BLACKSAND · ARBOK-DeSulph