Diesel fuel is a widespread oil product, so its use is always in the spot light. According to regulations, diesel fuel must not contain particles larger than 5 micron and water.
Particulate matter may enter the fuel in the process of transportation and storage. Water enters the fuel most often due to its contact with humid air or a temperature drop, followed by condensation.
Using contaminated fuel may cause increased wear of precision devices in high pressure fuel pumps and nozzles. This results in uneven fuel supply, degrading combustion and increasing fuel consumption. Engine start is difficult, power output drops. Water reduces the fuel’s lubricating qualities. Besides, the corrosion occurs faster, combustion, filtration and pumping characteristics are reduced.
Special mesh filters are used to address the issue of diesel fuel contamination. Their main objective is to capture solid matter larger than 80 micron. If a particle is slower, it passes on without hindrance. Fuel filters deal with those. Those consists of a housing and a filter element. Filtration removes not only particles, but also water from the fuel.
Separation is one case of filtration. It is used when diesel fuel is highly contaminated. Separators remove particulate matter from the fuel even in high concentrations. It also helps to remove water.
To increase efficiency of diesel fuel purification, a combination of various methods is often used, which have a cumulative effect if selected correctly.
A great example of equipment built with this idea in mind is GlobeCore’s UVR system. These units purify and clarify diesel fuels. The high standards of fuel products are achieved by combining special adsorption and filtration.
The main advantage of the UVR is its versatility: beside diesel fuel, heavy fuel oil, gas condensate, kerosene, etc. Switching from one product to another does not require complicated readjustment. The only thing that changes is processing rate, which depends on the viscosity and the degree of contamination of the oil product. When the process is complete, the diesel fuel remains stable and does not darken.