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If you store diesel to power back-up generators and boilers and fail to regularly maintain your fuel and storage tanks, it could be a disaster waiting to happen

You may face future problems if you:

  • Store fuel for more than six months
  • Do not have regular oil storage inspections
  • Operate in locations with extremes of weather
  • Cannot monitor the quality of your delivered fuel oil

Stored fuel can be adversely affected by extreme temperatures caused by weather conditionas as well as contaminants such as water, particulates such as rust and dust, other fuels and microbial contamination.

Microbial contamination can enter through water droplets which can get into fuel systems through condensation and grow in the space between water and fuel. Modern diesel fuel is particularly at risk of microbial contamination.

In a power emergency, your generator fuel is just as important as the generator itself and consequently you need to be 100% sure your fuel is in good working condition. That means carefully monitoring and managing microbial contamination known as the ‘diesel bug’.

Regular maintenance and remedial work

Andel's philosophy of prevention rather than cure is by far the best option which means regular maintenance visits and robust management of your stored fuel with Andel's specialist support and state-of-the-art equipment to keep you compliant and your stored fuel in optimum condition and ready for use at all times.

Andel offers a range of site services:

  • Site surveys
  • Annual compliance inspections
  • Remedial work
  • Fuel testing
  • Fuel filtration
  • Fuel polishing
  • Tank installation and maintenance
  • Bund installation and maintenance

Andel has been maintaining major oil storage facilities for over 25 years and has gained extensive hands-on experience in maintaining the quality your stored fuel through a range of on-site maintenance services and specialist products.

Andel’s oil storage maintenance means regular site visits, robust management, sampling and treatment of stored fuel using state-of-the-art specialist equipment as well as the installation of permanent filtration systems. With Andel you can rest assured that your diesel is always in optimum condition and ready for an emergency at any time, wherever you are.

The diesel bug

Due to changes in EU regulations, for environmental reasons, modern diesel fuel now contains lower sulphur content and significantly higher amounts of biodiesel. The presence of biosdiesel, though only up to 7%, means that bacterial and fungal growth is common in stored fuel. Microbial contamination that grows in diesel has come to be known as the diesel bug and is a problem that faces every site operator storing fuel. The diesel bug does not describe a single organism – but thousands of types of bacteria, as well as mould, fungi and and a slimy build up of biomass. 

Contaminated fuel supplies can result in at best machinery not operating efficiently and at worst in total breakdown.

Once microbial contamination starts to develop it can quickly get out of control. The micro-organisms produce thick, slimy biomass deposits, which clog engines and stop them from working properly. Biomass can influence metal corrosion, causing permanent damage to tanks and mechanical parts. If left for a prolonged period of time without treatment, it can cause:

  • Blocked filters
  • Increased injector wear
  • Increased fuel consumption 
  • Engine failure 
  • Fuel starvation
  • Corrosion and tank leakage 

Fuel and oil sampling 

Regular fuel and oil sampling provides an effective early warning of any potential problems. Andel provides a comprehensive and cost-effective service. A typical site-sampling visit (10 tanks) can be completed in a day with our independent laboratories providing a comprehensive analysis, identifying degraded fuel and reporting on tank condition. Andel recommends 6-monthly fuel sampling visits and 3-monthly visits if there is no filter unit.

To provide the most cost-effective solution, fuel and oil sampling visits can be co-ordinated with any other planned work such as Compliance Inspections and/or other routine maintenance.

Andel can also provide a range of innovative products to help manage the condition of stored fuel such as Andel Fuelstat, a convenient test-at-the-tank, interim microbial testing kit as well as permanent filtration systems.

Permanent filtration systems

Installation of permanent fuel oil polishing systems to your tanks regularly circulates the fuel and removes contaminants.

With exceptional flow rates of 140-200 l/m and high capacity fuel filter housings, the DDM-3 provides all the extra power you need to protect your fuels and get the job done in the shortest possible time.

  • Clean, dry fuel, ready for use when required
  • Recover and reuse contaminated fuels
  • Low running costs
  • Single pass cleanliness
  • Ideal for tank cleaning and fuel recovery

Managing fuel contamination

Andel can provide a number of solutions depending on the state of your stored fuel oil, we can:

Trade in stored fuel

Where the level of contamination is so severe that it cannot be treated, and though a costly option and your tanks will still need to be cleaned, you will have a contribution to any new oil purchased.

Remove the contaminated fuel, treat and return to the tank

Thoroughly clean your tanks of contamination, polish and stabilise the fuel oil using specialist state-of-the-art remedial equipment, return the refreshed fuel to the clean tank.

Install permanent fuel oil polishing systems to your tanks

To regularly circulate the fuel/oil through a permanently installed filtration system and clean it of contaminants. 

Some fuel and oil suppliers are recommending that fuel stocks older than six months are burnt off and replenished. We DO NOT recommend this course of action:

  • It is environmentally harmful, significantly increasing CO2 emissions
  • It dramatically increases oil usage and associated costs
  • It does not solve the problem of residual tank contamination, potentially infecting new oil supplies.

Related downloads

Andel Fuel Services – Sampling & Polishing Datasheet

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