Diesel polishing
What is diesel polishing?
Diesel polishing is maintenance. This is a periodic cleaning process, performed with mobile or stationary equipment, that purifies diesel by removing water, emulsified water, particles, and microbes. The purified diesel will meet the requirements of EN590 and the particle levels of ISO4406 – only then can it be considered diesel polishing.
Diesel polishing is used regardless of the diesel’s intended purpose, as long as the diesel is stored, such as in an accumulator, bulk tank, day tank or similar storage. This is considered the absolute best method today for ensuring diesel quality and tank cleanliness by periodically removing water, particles and microbes.
In diesel polishing, the contaminated diesel is transported out of the tank, through filter units, and back into the tank, similar to dialysis. This occurs regardless of what is connected to the tank. This means that all consumers connected to the tank can remain on standby – there is no downtime. This is crucial for installations connected to equipment such as generators in high standby mode.
Diesel polishing cannot be compared to tank cleaning – read more about tank cleaning here. Diesel polishing is done to maintain the highest fuel quality at all times, precisely to avoid tank cleaning and disposal.
All diesel has a quality standard that must be followed. For example, the diesel you use in your car or the green industrial diesel has many requirements, including cetane number, sulfur content, and more. What deteriorates diesel most significantly is primarily water, particles and diesel microbes.
EN590 is a standard that, until 2007, was free from biodiesel. Today, regular diesel (B7) is blended with at least 7% biodiesel. From 2023, biofuels have been added to plant diesel in varying amounts depending on the supplier. The products must meet minimum requirements for water and particles, and should not be contaminated with other substances such as diesel microbes. The minimum requirements are:
- Maximum water content. 200 mg/kg (often measured in ppm – 200 parts per million)
- Maximum of 24 mg/kg of particles (this does not meet ISO-4406).
Why is diesel polishing important?
Contaminated diesel is one of the primary causes of diesel engine failure. This can lead to significant costs, including downtime.
Contaminated or substandard diesel that does not meet the engine manufacturers’ requirements can affect warranty claims in case of failure.
By detecting a contamination issue early, you can perform diesel polishing. If this is not addressed and allowed to develop further, a full tank cleaning with diesel polishing should be conducted and returned to the tank. This will result in downtime and potentially compromise any emergency measures in place. This involves more extensive work compared to if periodic checks and polishing had been chosen from when the tank was new. Following a tank cleaning, it is of course possible to enter into a service agreement for periodic diesel polishing, to maintain fuel and tank cleanliness, thereby avoiding accidents and operational downtime.
Our diesel filtration units are unique.
We at Fuel-service are developers of filtration units. Today, we are at the forefront of diesel purification technology, supported by the Swedish Research Council. Currently, no one is further ahead than us. We have the knowledge, we have the technology, we have the experience.
Several tons of diesel for disposal.
Several tens of millions of liters of diesel are unnecessarily disposed of each year. With innovative technology supported by the Research Council, Fuel-service delivers environmentally friendly diesel polishing that removes all contaminants, reconditioning the diesel to a quality better than when it was new.
The necessity of periodic diesel polishing:
- No emergency generators/machines are out of operation while we perform diesel polishing.
- Periodic diesel polishing is environmentally friendly and cost-effective compared to disposing of the fuel and refilling the tank with new fuel.
- Periodic diesel polishing removes microbes such as diesel bacteria and filamentous algae.
- Periodic diesel polishing removes free and emulsified water.
- Periodic diesel polishing removes metals from the fuel, which are captured through magnetism and the filter.
- Periodic diesel polishing reduces consumption.
- Periodic diesel polishing eliminates carbon deposits on generator nozzles.
- Periodic diesel polishing extends the lifespan and ensures the readiness of the generators.
- Periodic diesel polishing reduces maintenance frequency and costs.
- Periodic diesel polishing prevents downtime.
- Periodic diesel polishing reduces emissions.
Questions and answers
Diesel microbes, also known as “diesel bugs,” are independent organisms that live in and on the water surface within a diesel tank, feeding on hydrocarbons from the diesel.
Diesel microbes cause clogged filters and damage to tanks, pipes, and engine systems. The viscous dark mass, also known as biomass, leads to clogged filters and damages to tanks, pipes, and engine systems. Diesel microbes attack and oxidize surfaces in the tank and fuel system, causing significant damage and potentially leading to engine failure.