If you work with large or industrial quantities of fuel, oils, or greases and lubricants, then you’ll know how important it is to avoid fuel contamination! Fuel contamination can cause a variety of issues for your fuel and, more importantly, your business. Fuel contamination can greatly impact the efficiency of your fuel, cause damage to your machines and vehicles, and force you to dispose of contaminated product. In order to keep your fuel at peak efficiency, protect your engines, and prevent business losses, ensure you’re conducting this four-step process at least every twelve months.
Test For Fuel Contamination
Step one is to identify any issues. Testing for fuel contamination should be done annually, with spring and autumn being the best months to conduct your testing. This is because the major temperature changes in summer and winter can cause condensation to build up inside your fuel tanks, contaminating your fuel with water.
Uplift Your Fuel Professionally
If your testing has identified contaminants – or if you’re conducting periodic cleaning of your fuel – the next step is to uplift your fuel from its tankers or containers in order to polish it. Fuel uplifting should be carried out by a professional in order to prevent spilling, further contamination, or anything else that may cause wastage.
Polish To Remove Contaminants
Fuel polishing is the method of cleaning a fuel and removing all forms of fuel contamination. Fuel polishing involved pumping the fuel through several filters which remove contaminants like water, microbes, dirt, and rust from your fuel. Fuel being polished is taken from the bottom of the tank, while clean, polishing fuel is returned to the top; this cycle is repeated until only pure fuel remains.
Conduct A Tank Cleaning
The final step is to conduct a thorough, professional tank cleaning before you return your fuel to its original container. Removing the contaminants from the fuel is half the job, you can’t chuck it back into a dirty tank and expect it to be fine! Once your fuel polishing is complete, make sure your tank is fresh and clean again before returning the cleaned fuel, or you’ll just be re-contaminating it!
