About Fuel • 28 March 2014
Do you know about the quality of the fuel going into your vehicles or generators?
The ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ behaviour depicted by these ‘closest of human relatives’ simply doesn’t work, IF you are serious about saving money.
Everyday radio stations report major traffic congestion or road closures due to a broken down or stationary truck.
For the consumer it means an extra few hours stuck in the car and of course the cost of fuel that sitting idly in the car will incur. For the owners of these trucks however this is a far more expensive exercise – and these breakdowns are due to poor quality fuel more often than one might think.
Bad Quality Fuel – The Effects
Blocked fuel filters or damaged injectors cause a host of problems many of which do cause engine failure. And failure can be expensive – besides repair costs, there is the vehicle downtime cost, the loss of production and the lack of reliability you are displaying to your customers.
Which would you prefer to have in your vehicles?
Below are two photographs of the injectors in a diesel engine:
Scenario 1 shows a blocked or damaged injector. The injectors could have been blocked or damaged by contamination in the fuel being forced through the engine under high pressure. This can cause a whole host of problems besides damaged injectors and worn fuel pumps which in themselves cause over-fuelling, resulting in ineffective combustion, fuel wastage, diesel drip into the crankcase & finally engine failure.
Scenario 2 shows a clean injector. The symmetrical spray pattern of the fuel can be seen. This gives best atomization of the fuel and ideal fuel burn conditions resulting in better consumption.
There are three basic ways in which contamination can be introduced into the fuel system: via air, water and through the fuel itself.
Air – Air enters a system through venting pipes. It may be contaminated by dust, microbiological spores, hydrocarbon utilising bacteria or other gases. It also may contain large amounts of moisture. It is not practical to keep air from entering the storage tank; however, utilising filters, such as the Matulor Tank Services vent breather filter, that are designed to limit the amount of airborne debris and moisture that may enter through the vent system, is highly recommended. Air itself may also be contaminant because the oxygen present can increase the oxidation of the fuel. This is especially important because of the general trend toward less stable fuel due to changes in the refining process.
Water – The second major source of fuel contamination is water – one of the easiest contaminants to identify and one of the most destructive. Free water and water in suspension in the fuel system can lead to corrosion and fuel degradation creating a fertile growing place for microbiological contaminants. Water is arguably one of the simpler contaminants to control although in many systems, poor tank design has made complete removal of water impossible unless a tank cleaning process is used that is able to vacuum the entire bottom of the tank. Cleaning systems also lacking in positive and multiple stage filtration will allow water to be passed downstream. Water can enter the fuel system as condensation from the air in the tank. Vents and seals that are poorly designed, improperly installed or are faulty or damaged, can also allow water to enter. Water is also often used for tank cleaning and as ballast in the marine environment and is not removed entirely again causing contamination.
Fuel – The third source of fuel system contamination is the fuel itself. Fuel in storage may degrade to form insoluble materials. These fuel insolubles’ may plug filters, foul injectors, form combustion system deposits and promote corrosion. The stability of the fuel is a measure of its resistance to this chemical change. Fuel stability is however dependent on several factors including crude sources, refinery processes, base fuel components, base fuel blends and storage conditions. As with air and water, fuel can bring in or pick up contaminants during the delivery process. As the fuel cools, water will condense and create free water droplets. Add to this housekeeping practices which are not strictly enforced and dirt, debris, water and bacteria can gather in the fuel lines and storage tanks.
Generally, contamination is found at the bottom of a storage tank but once turbulence of the fuel takes place – for example when a delivery takes place, this contamination is mixed up and placed into suspension and can easily be pumped into a car’s engine.
The Solution to ensuring good quality and clean fuel:
As quoted directly from BP Technical Bulletin “Underground Storage Tank Cleaning Methods: “Maintaining a periodic tank inspection schedule (preventative maintenance – PM) is imperative to maintaining contaminant free underground storage tanks. Preventative measures in maintaining product integrity have shown time, and time again, to be to the service station (or depot) owner’s economic benefit. It is prudent business practice to have a PM schedule in place at your service station (depot). If contamination problems arise, fastidious attention and resolution are the best practice to maintaining the integrity of your gasoline (diesel) product”.
