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Fuel Quality Problems

 

Recovering Product from Two-Phasing Situations: If too much water gets into a tank of an ethanol blended gasoline, be it E10 (10% ethanol) or E15 (15% ethanol), it can pull the ethanol out of solution, creating a separate water/ethanol phase at the bottom of the tank.  Depending upon the severity of the water contamination, vehicles which fuel up with the two phased material may break down at the site or a day later.  Recovering the upper gasoline phase can generally be accomplished if proper mitigation steps are taken.  Those mitigation steps will vary depending upon local fuel regulations, the grade of gasoline impacted, and the time of year.
 

Root Cause Identification: When product quality incidents occur, a thorough knowledge of known failure modes can rapidly point down the path of root cause identification.  Once known, preventive procedures can be developed to avoid future similar incidents.

Corrosion Issues: About ten years ago severe corrosion issues began to appear within ULSD storage systems, often in the vapor space above the diesel fuel.  Research by a number of parties is ongoing but points to a few key potential causes which can be addressed.

Microbial Contamination: Microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, algae) can get a foothold in fuel storage tanks.  If left untreated, the infestation can flourish, resulting in corrosion, filter plugging and fuel degradation.  Preventive treatment scenarios are available as well as processes to clean systems which have experienced severe issues.

Vehicle Symptoms Related to Fuel Composition/Contamination: Has a customer experienced a vehicle issue which is believed to be fuel related?  We have experienced a wealth of these over the years and have developed a straight forward approach to identifying whether the issue is the fuel or simply a mechanical problem.

Disposition of Off-Spec Fuel: If you have a fuel which has been involved in a product quality incident, is there a way to retain most of its value and bring it back on spec?  Options for dealing with such fuel require a thorough knowledge of fuel regulations and specifications in the county where the incident occurred and adjoining counties, the type of fuel involved, the type of contamination or admixture that has occurred and even the time of year.