Tank Care and Fuel Hygiene
Road diesel & gas oil now contains a percentage of bio-fuel (up to 7%) this provides an ideal breeding ground for diesel/gas oil bugs.
These issues are caused by
microbial contamination (often
known as diesel bugs which are
micro-organisms that grow on
water present in fuel). This
problem has been known but
contained for years until the
age of the latest fuels.
Over a period of time living microbes grow into large
colony forming units (CFUs) which get sucked into
fuel supply lines, blocking filters on dispensing
pumps & vehicles. Microbial contamination is most
commonly seen as sludge that forms in the bottom
of storage tanks & accumulates on filters. This
sludge also contributes to poor emissions (seen as
black exhaust smoke).
Even fuel with a small
percentage of bio-fuel will
act as a detergent -
cleaning the inside of the
storage tank, pipework &
valves allowing a dirt &
sludge to be sucked up by
pumps blocking filters.
Bio-fuels can
contain up to 25
times more water
than mineral
diesel, increasing
the risk of serious
& expensive
damage to fuel
injection systems.
The tank becomes an
incubator as the variation
of temperature
condensation & the
added percentage of
bio-fuel (which attracts
water as it is
hygroscopic) helps these
bugs to flourish
Equipment is failing due to
bugs in these modern fuels.
Problems with contaminated
fuel inside storage tanks is
causing pump &/or vehicle
filters to block. In severe
cases, vehicles have stopped working causing downtime &
hefty repair bills.
