JUST IN: AXI fuel polishing systems have been certified green, see highlights.

“Algae-X Diesel Fuel Conditioning is one of our newest and most exciting certifications.  Diesel fuel is one of the most used fuels in the world, and it is also often contanminated and may include sludge that clogs filters and fuel injectors.  The AXI fuel filtration and condition is a remarkably Green process that we feel has great benefits to the commercial industry.  How can a diesel services be Green?  Millions of gallons of diesel are dumped each year becasue the fuel is bad.  the AXI system will reciver bad diesel, maintain diesel for any storage system, and reduce soot (unburned fuel) in our air from these engines.  This is certainly an unconventional, but very exciting concept to investigate if your company uses diesel in vehicles or emergency generator situations.” www.cleanfuelmanagement.com

Clean fuel…..It’s what we do.
To learn more, call us at 757-673-7200
email to: sales@cleanfuelmanagement.com
or visit our website at www.cleanfuelmanagement.com

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  run just about forever. The only limiting factor is Fuel Quality. Dark fuel is symptom of poor fuel quality and even though, in most cases, it can be used, fuel in this condition will provide poor combustion and filter life problems.

“Dark fuel” is in a sign of oxidation and that the process of fuel degradation is in an advanced stage. Hazy fuel is indicative of water emulsified in the fuel. In general, dark hazy fuel will not damage your engine. It does however indicate poor fuel quality, which will definitely not provide you with peak engine performance.  And in turn cost you money by sending unburnt fuel out of the exhaust.

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, repolymerization 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 such as fuel polishing.

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. For more information feel free to contact us, or visit Cleanfuelmanagement.com

Clean fuel…..it’s what we do!

 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 a small portion are 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 asphaltene 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 normal 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.

To extend filter life and increase the combustibility of your fuel go to http://www.cleanfuelmanagement.com/ or call us at 800-548-6252. We will be happy to get your fuel flowing.

Clean fuel…..it’s what we do!

Tim

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.

Last but not least for today is natural degradation. Fuel is in fact inherently unstable. Given enough time diesel fuel will revert back to crude. Asphaltines and paraffins fall out of solution and settle to the tank bottom only to mix with those other components like water and sludge. this cocktail is toxic and can cause serious problems for you, maintenance, and life of your equipment. Left unattended this concoction will certainly cost you money and downtime.

Maintenance on your fuel is as important as maintenance on your engine. Test your fuel to alert you to problems before they get out of hand. Have a reputable firm polish your fuel annually and treat with stabilizers to keep your fuel in spec. Install permanent automated systems to continually filter, condition, and remove water. In the long run you will benefit and save large sums of money.

For more information visit us on the web at http://cleanfuelmanagement.comor call us at 757-673-7200 or email us at sales@cleanfuelmanagement.com. Clean fuel…..it’s what we do!

Well I’m here to tell you that method IS NOT fuel polishing.  Fuel polishing involves reversing the deterioration of the fuel.  You see fuel breaks down.  Filtration does not deal with the organics (unless they are large clusters), only the inorganic matter such as sand and dirt and in cases, water.  So what is a person to do?  Enter the fuel conditioner.  This device is placed between the tank and the first filter.  The fuel conditioner breaks down the organic clusters into smaller particles that return to the fuel solution where they were designed to reside.  Most of this organic sludge is composed of wax and tar.  These compounds fall out of the fuel over time and come back together ending up at your tank bottom.  The fuel conditioner breaks the weak magnetic bonds holding these clusters together and gets them mixed back into the fuel.

Now how much will it cost me to get me fuel clean?  This depends on fuel volume and your ability to do mechanical work.  There are systems that you can purchase for as little as $1000 which are totally ready to connect and run.  These will be your best bet when you store several hundred gallons.  If, on the other hand you are the owner of a few dozen gallons the solution must be cost effective.  So a do-it-yourself system is most likely best.  These systems will involve a fuel conditioner, pump, three-way valve, fuel filter/water separator and hose and fittings.  The system will be connected as follows: tank-conditioner-three way valve-secondary pump-fuel filter-tank.  This method allows you to take advantage of the conditioner whether the engine is running or not.  The three-way valve will allow you to switch between the engine circuit and the polishing circuit.  With a little planning and patience and attention to detail you can assemble an inexpensive fuel polishing system to take care of tanks below 100 gallons for about $500.

Now let’s discuss the actual pump.  Most likely you have an electric pump already on the engine.  This is fine if you can deal with the worry of a pump failure at a critical moment such as docking in a strong current or passing a freighter with a cross wind.  But for most it is best to install a separate, stand alone pump for your polishing system.  And as a side note-the cost of a switch, wire, extra hardware, and time will most likely offset the price of a new pump.

So if you are thinking about installing a fuel polishing system on your boat remember, it is as easy as you want to make it.  And also remember that a pump and filter does not constitute fuel polishing, only fuel filtration.  To call it polishing you must have a fuel conditioner.

For extra help send us an email at sales@cleanfuelmanagement.com or info@engines1.com.  Give us a few details about your boat such as number of gallons, number of tanks, whether 12 or 24 volts DC is available and of course, your contact information.  We will be happy to show you how you can get this job done fairly.

You can also visit either engines1.com or cleanfuelmanagement.com

To learn more about fuel polishing and how it will benefit your facility, business, customers or company owned equipment, go to cleanfuelmanagement.com.

Today we delivered our MTC-HC50 mobile fuel polisher to Northern VA.  As the finishing touches go into the assembly we are excited to be able to service customers with large tanks.  This new polisher will provide a flow rate of up to 75 gallons per hour.  For filtration we have several items to note..1-a bag filter vessel..2- a fuel conditioner..3-a coallescer water and heavy particulate removal device..4-a cartridge filter vessel.  This machine is able to provide filtered fuel down to 1 micron in size with water removal well below the ASTM recommendations.  You will get clean fuel to your engines and generators.  But don’t forget your heating plants and other machinery that runs on middle distillate fuel.  To learn more go to or MTC-HC50 page.

Efficiency is the key with this machine.  Using a large pre filter bag to trap large particulate and free water before fuel enters the pump is the key and saves time and filter costs.  The air diaphragm pump is adjustable for flows from about 50gpm to over 75gpm.  After the pump the conditioner reverses fuel degradation before the coallescer which removes more water and sludge.  Finally the filter vessel removes particulate down to 1 micron and adds a water block feature for that last bit of trouble.

We then added the PLC monitoring system for a more hands free approach while still having the failsafe’s for high suction, high discharge pressure, high water and more.
All this for helping keep your customers fuel tanks clean and dry.  They will love you for it.  And don’t forget our full spectrum fuel catalyst AFC705.

Want even more, Call us at 757-673-7200. 
Or visit our website for fuel at Cleanfuelmanagement.com

Cleaning fuel.…it’s what we do.

Tim