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Why is a mobile marine service involved in
fuel management services?
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The harshest of
all conditions for fuel management
is the marine environment. With
over 42 years in the marine trades
we have learned that 80% of
engine problems originate in the
fuel. Over 9 years ago we designed, engineered and constructed our fuel
polishing system that performs
flawlessly to prevent and reverse
such issues. Simply put, we have
innovative solutions to solve your
fuel problems |
What happened to the fuel ?
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Simply put, all
fuels are unstable 90 days out of
the refinery. This begins as the solids come out of
solution and settle to the bottom of
the tank. At the bottom of the tank
is a moisture layer which comes from
the condensation of the air. The air
carries bacteria, which eats
the solids and releases waste. This
is the beginning of the microbial
contamination or sludge. |
What does the stuff in the
fuel look like ?
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New Filter (center) New Filter after fuel servicing (left
and right) |
What can I do to
prevent contamination and sludge?
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Have a fuel
management program managed by Moore
Marine Services. |
What
fuels can be polished and tanks cleaned?
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Gasoline, Diesel,
Jet (Turbine) , Biodiesel Fuels. |
Why not remove the fuel and replace it with
fresh fuel?
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a.
This process does not clean the
tank.
b. You are placing fresh clean
fuel into a contaminated tank with
sludge, thus giving the microbial
contamination a fresh load of
groceries. |
Why not just
kill all the bacteria with a biocide?
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Killing the bacteria
(algae) does not clean the tank and
adds dead bacteria to the existing
quantity of sludge. |
Is it possible
to test the fuel to determine the quality?
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Yes.
The preliminary test is done on site
for water and sludge. Beyond that
there are over 32 different
properties of the fuel to be tested
in a laboratory. In most cases the
fuel can be restored making it
better than fresh fuel. |
Is a job to big or to
small?
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No. With over 42
years in business and flow rates
from 6 to 300 GPM, we have
innovative solutions to common
problems with the new
environmentally friendly fuels. |
What
is Diesel Fuel "ALGAE"?*
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Algae
are a life form found in water,
similar to algae growing in an
aquarium. However, for years, people
have been referring to tank sludge
and to the jelly, slime and other
contaminants found in fuel filters
as "algae". The colloquialism
"diesel fuel algae" is widely used
and understood. However, there is no
relationship between the "algae"
growing in your aquarium and the
sludge "growing" (forming) in your
fuel tank and showing up on your
filter elements. There are three
basic areas of concern in fuels and
oil. They are: 1. water 2.
in-organic debris (sand, dust, rust,
etc.) and 3. organic debris (fuel
breakdown products and waste
products of fuel deterioration and
re-polymerization). The organic
debris represents more than 90% of
all the contaminants found in fuels
and oil. It is this organic debris,
the sludgy, slimy, acidic material
that people refer to as "diesel fuel
algae". It could also be called
polymer, tar or wax and asphalt! In
South America, people refer to the
"Algae" as "mud". In gasoline, the
organic fuel breakdown products are
often referred to as gum, varnish,
or lacquer. Taken literally these
words could be confusing too. |
What is Diesel Fuel?*
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Diesel fuel is a very
complex mixture of thousands of
individual compounds with carbon
numbers between 9 and 23 (number of
carbon atoms per hydrocarbon*
molecule) Most of these compounds
are members of the paraffinic,
naphthenic or aromatic class of
hydrocarbons (HC). These three
classes have different chemical and
physical properties. The different
relative proportions of the three
classes is one of the factors that
make one diesel fuel different from
another. It influences fuel
properties and affects its
performance. Up until about 15-20
years ago, refineries used only
about 50% of a barrel of crude oil
to make distillates such as
gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. The
remainder of the barrel of crude oil
went to "residual oil". Today, as a
result of different refining
techniques and additive packages,
the refinery uses 90% or more of the
same barrel of crude, which clearly
has consequences for fuel stability.
More than 90% of the debris on
filter elements and the sludge in
our storage tanks is organic
material, fuel and oil breakdown
residue. In most cases, this debris
is acidic and not good for your
engine. It causes corrosion in
injectors, pumps and storage tanks.
The solids that form as the result
of the inherent instability of the
fuel and the natural process of
degradation will accumulate in the
bottom of your tank. The sludge will
form a coating or bio-film on the
walls and baffles of the tank, plug
your filters and impact combustion
efficiency. Eventually it will clog
fuel lines and ruin your equipment.
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What is the "stuff" that
clogs my filters?*
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Filter plugging can
have several causes. For example,
low temperatures can cause wax
crystallization, which can lead to
filter plugging. An example would be
using summer diesel in cold weather.
Wax or paraffin is part of the
diesel fuel. ALGAE-X® AFC 805 Winter
Fuel Catalyst with Anti Gel is the
answer to that problem. Chemical
incompatibility may cause dramatic
filter plugging. This may happen
when fuels with incompatible
additive packages are mixed.
Contaminant build up resulting from
excessive microbial growth and
bio-degradation of fuel can cause
filter plugging. Micro-organisms,
bacteria and enzyme activity,
fungus, yeast and mold cause fuel
degradation and the formation of
waste products. The process is
similar to milk turning into cottage
cheese, a different form of milk. Of
all the microbial debris and waste
products in the tank only about .01%
is bugs. Even though microbes may
cause and accelerate the process of
fuel degradation, it should be clear
that the waste products clogging
your filter are not the microbes but
fuel components which have formed
solids. Frequently, the application
of a biocide aggravates the
situation and turns bio-film into
solids, creating a real fuel filter
nightmare. Bio film develops through
out the entire fuel system. It grows
in the water fuel interface and on
the walls, baffles, and bottoms of
storage tanks. An unlucky end user
may be filling up his tank and
getting this debris delivered as a
part of his fuel, for the same price
as the fuel. Poor thermal fuel
stability can plug filters. Fuel
will form particulates (solids) when
exposed to pumps and the hot
surfaces and pressure of the fuel
injection system. This will result
in an increase in asphalting
agglomerations, polymerization and a
dramatic loss of combustion
efficiency. Fuel systems, in
general, are designed to return a
significant proportion of the fuel,
not used for combustion, back to the
tank. This return fuel is very hot
and will promote polymerization and
fuel breakdown. Eventually, more and
more solids from the tank will reach
the filter and over time, plug the
filter. These problems continuously
occur in commercially operated
engines, such as trucks, heavy
equipment, shipping, and power
generation, but will also appear in
recreational boats, RV's and all
types of fuel storage tanks. Truck
engines are used continuously and,
in most cases, the tanks "appear to
be clean". However, a 2-micron
filter element does not last very
long, in general 15,000 miles or
less. It should be 30,000 miles or
more. In the marine industry 400
hours is in many instances SOP while
filters should easily last 1000
hours or more. the size of the
largest diesel fuel molecule still
within specs is approx. 30 Angstrom
(that equals approx 0,003 of a
micron). Compared to a 10-micron
opening in a filter element, one can
have 3333 of these particular
molecules passing through the
opening side by side. E.g. comparing
the size of a baseball to two and a
half football fields. Short filter
life is quite remarkable realizing
how "thin" diesel fuel actually is
and knowing how clean the tanks on
most trucks "appear" to be. Short
filter life is symptomatic of
polymerization, increase in the size
of the fuel droplet, agglomeration
of asphaltenes and the formation
solids in fuel systems. The
consequences are carbon build up in
engines and exhaust systems, higher
fuel consumption and excessive
smoke. |
Can diesel fuel plug your
filters?*
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Yes, it can. The stuff that
clogs your filters is actually fuel
in some way, shape or form. In
excess of 90% of this organic debris
are fuel breakdown products. It is
not sand, dust, stones, rust or
in-organic matter that blocks your
filter. The inorganic material like
sand, dust and other particles will
not cause your filters to clog. In
fact, a lot of sand in a fuel filter
would act as extra filtration. The
pores between the sand particles are
much larger than the pores in a
standard fuel filter element. Sand
filters are commonly used to filter
water. A hair is approximately 80
micron and fuel filter elements
range all the way from 30 micron for
a pre-filter to 2 micron in a fine
filter |
How does fuel stability
affect the user?*
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Fuel stability is a serious
concern for the diesel fuel user.
The chemistry of diesel fuel
instability involves the chemical
conversion of precursors to species
of higher molecular weight with
limited solubility. The conversion
process often involves oxidation of
the precursors. Fuel solvency plays
a role, since the development of
insoluble is always a function of
both the presence of higher
molecular weight species and the
fuel capacity to dissolve them. We
all realize that fuel is an
unstable, organic liquid that goes
"bad". Your vendor will always sell
you the highest fuel quality
possible. However, due to a variety
of circumstances fuel may have
"aged", oxidized and/or contain
water. It may have been contaminated
before it was delivered to you or to
your vendor. Fuel has to travel from
the refinery to the end user
destination. It is pumped through
pipelines, barged, trucked and
stored in tank farms. Diurnal
changes in temperature and exposure
to the atmosphere will cause
condensation and water in storage
systems. None of this will help
improve fuel quality. When your fuel
is finally used, it is exposed to
the heat and pressure of engine
injection systems, centrifuges,
pumps, heaters causing an increase
in asphaltene agglomerations, which
negatively impacts combustion
efficiency and emissions. |
What is bad fuel? *
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Fuel is made to certain ASTM
specifications. When it does not
meet these specs., we could refer to
it as "bad fuel". However, we tend
to refer to fuel as "bad fuel" when
we see symptoms such as: -dark hazy
fuel, -filter plugging. -sludge
build up in tanks, -poor engine
performance, -excessive smoke &
emissions, -etc. We refer to fuel as
"good fuel", when it is clear and
bright. Or rather in that case, no
reference is made at all to our
fuel. We simply use it and take fuel
quality and peak engine performance
for granted. Bad fuel is fuel that
does not meet ASTM specifications.
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Is "Dark Fuel" the same as "Bad Fuel" and
can I still use it? *
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This is a question
many of us have asked more than
once. And what we really want to
know is: "Will the stuff damage my
engines?" Engines are expensive,
ruining an engine is costly and
operating an engine on "bad fuel" is
not wise. We all know that most
engine failures start in the fuel
tank. When all mechanical parts are
in good operating condition, the
cooling and lube systems are
working, the lube oil is clean and
there is a sufficient supply of
clean air getting to the combustion
chamber, a diesel engine or turbine
could almost run forever. The only
limiting factor is Fuel Quality.
Dark fuel is symptomatic of poor
quality and even though, in most
cases, it can be used, fuel in this
condition will provide poor
combustion and filtration problems.
"Dark fuel" is in general indicative
of oxidation and that the process of
fuel degradation is in a far
advanced stage. Hazy fuel is
indicative of water emulsified in
the fuel. In general, dark hazy fuel
will not damage your engine. It
indicates however, poor fuel
quality, which will definitely not
provide you with peak engine
performance. Using less than optimal
fuel quality negatively impacts
engine efficiency and accelerates
the process that makes new engines
old. Diesel fuel can range from
colorless, to amber or light brown
color, depending on the crude oil
and the refinery process used to
produce it. In addition, dyes may be
added to change the fuel color for
tax identification purposes. In
time, stored fuel will darken due to
oxidation, re-polymerization and
agglomeration of certain components.
The darkening is accompanied by the
formation of sediment that plugs
filters and causes poor combustion.
Fuel & Oil vendors suggest that if
diesel fuel is stored for emergency
use, it should be replaced with
fresh fuel within a year, unless
special precautions or remedial
actions are taken. The university of
Idaho conducted tests on the life
expectancy of fuels to determine the
timeline on degradation of stored #2
diesel. The results indicated 26%
degradation after 28 days of
storage. Disposing of Fuel and
purchasing New Fuel is a very
expensive proposition. Many larger
companies, government institutions,
hospitals, etc. have the dumping of
fuel and the purchasing of new fuel
as standard and accepted practice.
The implementation of ALGAE-X®
Technology eliminates these costly,
wasteful, and environmentally
unfriendly dumping practices.
ALGAE-X® will preserve fuel
integrity almost indefinitely and
can help you put in place good
housekeeping measures along with a
quality fuel-monitoring program.
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How does my engine negatively
impact fuel quality? *
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A diesel engine uses only some
of the fuel it pulls from the tank.
All of that fuel goes to the
high-pressure fuel pump and to the
injectors operating under enormous
pressure and high temperatures. The
surplus fuel the engine is not using
goes back to the tank. This fuel is
continuously re-circulated and
exposed to extreme pressure and
heat, which results in the
agglomeration of asphaltenes, the
high carbon content, heavy end fuel
molecules. It leads to the formation
of larger and larger clusters and
solids, which are very difficult to
completely combust. These solids may
grow so large that they will not
pass through the filter element and
become part of the polymer and
sludge build up plugging the filter.
In addition, the hot fuel coming
back to the tank will raise the fuel
temperature in the tank, cause
condensation and contribute to
microbial contamination, fuel break
down, bio fouling and the build up
of sludge and acid. Large fuel
droplets and high asphaltene
concentrations require more time,
more energy and higher temperatures
to combust than is available in
engines during the combustion cycle
and before the exhaust valve opens.
Any device in the fuel system
exposing the fuel to stress (heat
and pressure) such as pumps,
heaters, or centrifuges will
increase the formation of
asphaltenes and negatively impact
combustion. |
Isn't my filter supposed to
keep my fuel system clean? *
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Well, filtration simply cannot
and will not do that. At best,
filters, separators and centrifuges
remove debris suspended in the fuel
before the fuel reaches the engine.
Stopping, preventing or reversing
the process of fuel breakdown is a
completely different matter that can
be addressed and resolved with
ALGAE-X® Fuel Conditioners. It is
not very likely that filtration,
(either the filter on the engine, or
an external filtration system) will
remove the sludge coating from the
walls and baffles of your storage
tank and the use of biocides will
almost always aggravate the
situation. Filtration has no effect
on fuel break down processes
whatsoever. Filters are primarily
designed to remove in-organic debris
from the fluid stream and, as we
have seen, they become clogged with
organic debris, resulting from fuel
degradation. The water separator is
designed to remove free-water.
However, a separator, filter
combination or centrifuge cannot
remove emulsified water. Free water
in fuel can simply be removed from
the fuel stream with the use of a
water separator. Several well-known
and very efficient combination
Filter/Water separator devices are
on the market. They are essential in
any diesel engine application.
Simple in-organic debris, dust,
sand, rust, etc. can easily be
removed from the fuel stream with a
filter. That is what the filter was
made for. This in-organic material
will be trapped in the filter
without clogging it. Most of the
debris we see on the filter elements
(the stuff that plugs our filters)
is the result of the fuel having
begun to form solids. |
What are the problems related
to long-term fuel storage? *
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Temperature, humidity and
condensation are very important
factors in managing fuel integrity.
The presence of free water provides
the medium for microbiological
growth that results in the formation
of slime and acids causing corrosion
of metal surfaces such as storage
tanks, pumps, injectors, etc. Other
key factors leading to fuel
deterioration, polymerization, and
stratification in storage tanks are
chemical incompatibility and stress
caused by heat and pressure of
pumps, centrifuges, and heaters.
Since most diesel engines return
considerable amounts of fuel back to
the tank, it is easy to see that the
engine itself contributes to fuel
deterioration.
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What is the cost of service?
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Rates will fluctuate according
to geographical location, tests
required, extent and type of
contamination, chemicals required
for remediation and quantity of
fuel. We offer flow rates from 6 GPM to
300GPM and over 34 different
tests . Our services are USCG ,
ABYC , DEP , EPA , ABS , NFPA ,and
JCAHO compliant . We are licensed
and insured. |
*some
images and information courtesy of algae-x.net
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