Case Study - Bulk Diesel Fuel Filtration At Fuel Depot
Diesel Fuel arriving in bulk loads via barge, rail, or tanker truck?
Problem:
Brand new #2 Diesel Fuel arriving in bulk loads via barge, rail, or tanker truck typically has high levels of particulate contamination. The problem of dirty diesel fuel is particularly noticeable in a market like Australia, where the fuel is handled multiple times before it reaches the point of end use. The newer generation of large diesel engines all have very tight tolerances in the fuel injectors, and with much tighter onboard fuel filters that will otherwise plug prematurely, it is increasingly important to pre-filter the bulk diesel fuel to meet or exceed stringent OEM fuel cleanliness specifications.
In this Fuel Depot serving several large open pit mining operations, the #2 Diesel Fuel delivered by rail to their 5 million litre bulk tanks ranges can be as high as ISO 24/23/18. By contract, they must deliver fuel to their assets which meets or exceeds an ISO 18/16/13 cleanliness level.
Microscopic Photographs of various contamination levels
Solution:
This Fuel Depot installed a Duplex 2-Stage Fuel Filter Housing Assembly on their dispensing line from the 5 million liter bulk tanks to the loading rack, where tanker trucks are filled with #2 Diesel Fuel at a 3,000lpm flow rate. The first stage of filtration consists of 1-Micron nominally rated polyester felt bag filters, which are a very cost-effective way to pre-filter the fuel and remove most of the large contaminants. The second stage then consists of high efficiency 2.5 Micron Duplex 2-Stage Fuel Filter Housing Assembly pleated microglass filter elements rated Beta>1000 per ISO 16889, which “polish” the fuel and give outstanding single-pass particle count reduction.
Duplex 2-Stage Fuel Filter Housing Assembly
Results:
Samples taken from the 5 million liter Bulk Tank reveal particle counts as high as ISO 24/23/18. Upon dispensing the fuel, and loading the tankers through the 2-Stage Filter Housing Assembly, samples are pulled for every load, and they range from ISO 18/16/10 down to ISO 17/15/10 after filtration.
Load 11: Single Pass Filtration Results
Tabulated Contaminant Counts
*Shaded columns represented above in graph.
Conclusion:
Even in the most difficult and demanding applications, OilQuip can help you meet or exceed stringent OEM fuel cleanliness specifications by properly sizing and configuring high efficiency filtration equipment.
