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Regular quality control of fuels and lubricants is crucial in the continuous and smooth operation of machinery. To upgrade the productivity and standards of fuels and lubricants being used in Sri Lanka, a Petroleum & Lubricant Testing Laboratory (PLTL) was established by the Industrial Technology Institute in their Colombo premises, providing a wide spectrum of technical services on petroleum-based and biobased products according to the internationally recognized analytical standards such as ASTM, ISO, and IP. Daily News Supplements spoke with Industrial Technology Institute, Senior Research Scientist – Petroleum and Lubricant Testing Laboratory, Dr. T.M.M. Marso.

“This standardization of fuels and lubricants facilitates longer equipment life, detects early signs of contamination and degradation, reduces equipment downtime, and ultimately saves you money. This is a fully-fledged laboratory with advanced technologies, with the ability to facilitate a wide range of technical services on the above-mentioned materials as mentioned in the Table 01,” stated Dr. Marso. “Due to this specialty, in addition to such technical services, we offer various other industrial and academic-related activities such as consultancy services, training programmes and research and development activities. Furthermore, as being the only government third-party laboratory which provides technical services in the above-mentioned areas, the laboratory has a potential to contribute towards the national regulatory process by ensuring the quality of petroleum products consumed in Sri Lanka. Overall, the PLTL contributes to filling a vacuum that existed for a long time in the field of petroleum services and research in Sri Lanka. More importantly, the laboratory will be a huge strength for the local research scholars and entrepreneurs in this field,” he explained.