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Diesel 101
Diesel is considered an organic fuel and this means that it is subject to decay overtime. Essentially this means it has a shelf life and can reliably be stored for 12 months at an ambient temperature.
Overtime as fuel decays the molecules in the fuel will lengthen and bond creating asphaltenes, also known as diesel sludge. Diesel sludge is known to have critical impact on in-line filters and critical engine component life cycles. Diesel is a fuel that attracts and absorbs moisture which often means that it contains freestanding and emulsified water. This molecular bond can cause fuel water separators to fail to remove 40% to 100% of entrained water.
In the last two decades the introduction of bio-blended fuels, consumers need to be aware that fuel integrity can be compromised in less than 12 months. With this occurring standard fuel maintenance programs may not be sufficient enough to ensure emergency equipment (life safety generators) can run to efficiently and with out failure.
Diesel Contaminamination Causes
There are three main causes for diesel to become contaminated
Natural Contamination
Diesel is highly hygroscopic (It likes to absorb water), this means some as slight as minor temperature change and condensation can add unnecessary water to become either free standing or emulsified. Like most living things, water gives life to microbial growth which lives on the water line and feeds on rich hydrocarbons present in the asphaltenes layer of the diesel.
System Contamination
Diesel fuel does not only act as a product which the combustion is transferred into a form of energy (ie. Generators, Boilers). Diesel also provides lubrication for components, especially in engine applications. Now most engines that run off diesel return a amount of the fuel drawn back into its storage system (ie. Day tank or main tank). This diesel on a normal circumstance comes back substantially warmer then the fuel that is being stored. This mix of hot and cold fuel causes evaporation and condensation in tanks which hastens the natural contamination process.
Handling and Supply
Do you know where your fuel comes from or who and how it got to you? That’s a question that most consumers can not answer which means you really don’t know how the fuel has been stored or handled before it became your property. It may have been handled incorrectly or maybe stored in a tank with decaying or old fuel. The point is you cannot be sure if the fuel you receive isn’t already contaminated before you got it.