Defined inoculum for the investigation of microbial contaminations of liquid fuels

Microbial contamination of hydrocarbons, especially fuels, has been intensively investigated, as the contamination leads to quality losses of the fuel or damage and even destruction of storage equipment. Researchers use different microbes for these investigations. Alternative inocula include pure cultures, low diversity mixed cultures or samples from (contaminated) storage tanks. In contrast to chemical investigations, no standards exist...