A 1,000 L IBC of AdBlue® is a significant amount of product going into your vehicles and machines. A few minutes spent checking it on arrival, and again before connecting it, is the easiest way to be confident it's clean. If something is wrong, it's also far better to find out before the first litre goes into a vehicle than after a warning light comes on.
Use this checklist as-is or adapt it into your own receiving procedure.
On delivery: paperwork and seals
- Check the label. The IBC should be clearly labelled as AdBlue or AUS 32, with the supplier's name and a batch or lot number. Genuine AdBlue can only be sold under that name by a VDA-licensed producer (see what the licence means).
- Match the paperwork. Check the delivery docket against the label: product, quantity and batch number should agree.
- Ask for a Certificate of Analysis. A CoA shows the batch was tested against ISO 22241-1. Keep it with your records.
- Check the tamper seals. The top lid and outlet valve should both have intact seals. A missing or broken seal means you can't be sure what's been in or out of the IBC since it was filled.
On delivery: the container itself
- Look at the bottle. The plastic should be clean and undamaged, with no cracks, deep scuffs or signs of leaking. It shouldn't be chalky or brittle, which would suggest an old, sun-aged bottle.
- Check for residue or staining. Look through the bottle wall where you can. There should be no sediment, film, oily residue or discolouration inside.
- Inspect the valve. The outlet valve should be clean, capped and dry. White crystals around it can mean a slow leak or product sitting in the outlet.
- Check the cage and base. The steel cage should be straight and the pallet base, timber or steel, sound. A damaged base is a handling and safety problem.
- Place it straight away. A full IBC weighs about 1,150 kg. Put it where it will be used, level and out of direct sun, rather than leaving it in the yard.
Before connecting: the product
- Clean the valve and your fittings. Wipe the outlet and the coupling on your hose or gravity kit before connecting. Dust on the coupling ends up in the product.
- Run a small sample. Draw off a little into a clean, clear, dedicated container. AdBlue should be clear and colourless, with no particles or cloudiness.
- Check the smell. A faint ammonia smell is normal. A strong, sharp one suggests the product has been stored hot for too long.
- Optional: check concentration. If you have an AdBlue refractometer, check the reading is within range. Remember it only confirms urea concentration. It won't detect metals or minerals; only a lab test does that.
- Don't pour the sample back. Even a clean-looking jug can carry dust. Dispose of the small sample according to your site's procedures; it's a trivial loss compared with a contaminated IBC.
Keep a simple record
Write down the delivery date, batch number and date connected, either on a tag attached to the IBC or in a site logbook. Keep the CoA with it. If a vehicle ever has an AdBlue-related fault, you can quickly show which batch it was filled from and when, which makes troubleshooting much faster.
On sites that run several IBCs at once, number each one on its tag and connect them in delivery order. It keeps stock rotating first in, first out, so no IBC sits in the corner for a year while newer ones are used ahead of it.
If anything on the checklist fails, don't connect the IBC. Photograph the problem, note the batch number and contact your supplier before using it.
Put this into practice today: print the checklist and tape it to the wall near your IBC stand, with a pen on a string. The next delivery gets checked by whoever receives it, not just when the right person is on shift.
How Liquidia can help
Every Liquidia 1,000 L IBC is filled with lab-tested AdBlue made under VDA licence, sealed and labelled with its batch. Certificates of Analysis are available on request, and documents are on our resources page.