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Mind the quality of your diesel
Fuel Mag (encircled) fitted to a marine diesel generator.
Ever wondered why diesel cars, unlike their petrol counterparts, give frequent troubles after a few years of service? One may blame it on adulterated fuel, bad roads, improper driving habits... but these are problems common to petrol cars also. There is a far more serious problem affecting the `heart' of your diesel car and damaging not only the engine but also choking the city. The culprit is `microbial infection' of diesel.
In advanced countries, biocides are being used in diesel tanks to kill the harmful bacteria and protect the engine. Though biocides are effective in killing the bacteria, they release toxic gases causing environmental pollution.
While bacterial contamination of diesel is the subject of a hot debate all over the globe, Indian oil majors feign ignorance on this count. "We are sure about the purity of the oil supplied by us and we cannot be held responsible if it gets contaminated at a later stage," said the `responsible' official of one of the oil companies in Mumbai, when a responsible citizen tried to educate him on the issue.
"The Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) is not evincing any interest in the issue as it is concerned only with saving petrol and does not seem to be bothered about the possible environmental damage caused by diesel pollution," says an expert.
Emission is the by-product of combustion. Emission constituents from diesel are Particulate matter (Pm), Carbon Monoxide(CO) Total Hydrocarbons (Thc), Oxides of Nitrogen (Nox) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2). All hydrocarbon fuels will emit these pollutants at various levels, with the exception of SO2, which is from diesel.
Low sulphur diesel is considered a clean and economical fuel. Thanks to the price advantage, more and more people are going for diesel cars. The efficiency and performance of diesel engines greatly depends on the quality of diesel. That is, the quality and purity of diesel could adversely affect engine performance.
In order to sustain the improved performance of modern engines, the quality of fuel supplied to the engine must remain consistent.
The bacterial colonies can be seen floating in diesel collected in bottles
Bacterial contamination occurs when some strain of bacteria get carried forward from the refining stage. The rest enter by exposing the fuel to the atmosphere in storage tanks, delivery trucks, wagons, dispensing stations, pipelines and in vehicle's own tank. Some of these bacteria are aerobic, which require oxygen for multiplication and the other are anaerobic which live in oxygen-depleted atmosphere like sulfate reducing bacteria
(SRB).
Biodegradation of Diesel.
Invisible to naked eye, the bacteria spores are actively mobile in the fuel. The fast reproduction and multiplication time allows them to exploit any good growth conditions provided by the temperature, agitation and water contents in the fuel. Bacteria rely on the fuel (carbon) molecules and the molecules of additives present in the fuel to support its life cycle.
The great diversity of bacteria's life cycle means that it can utilise any organic substance in the fuel. As bacteria keep on with its life cycle of consuming fuel molecules and secretion, partial breakdown of products occur. These secretions of breakdown fuel become food for other microbes. This continuous process assisted by fresh supply of diesel into the tank, leads to the rapid development of a consortium of microbes which biodegrade the fuel.
The extra-cellular slime produced by the bacteria help them to attach to the surfaces and also protect the colony from changes in the environment. Slime (bacteria colony consisting of different interdependent organisms ) may deactivate or prevent the effectiveness of chemical biocide widely used for controlling bacterial activity.
Proliferation of aerobic bacteria and the formation of bio film as discussed above help to promote the growth of sulfate reducing bacteria in the fuel. SRB are highly dangerous and known for causing corrosion in fuel tank, pumps and injectors. In addition to this, SRB produce hydrogen sulfide, a harmful and lethal substance. A concentration of 300 ppm in the air we breathe is considered life threatening. Storage tanks are highly susceptible to SRB attack.
Contamination and degradation affects engine components adversely. The sludge and slime block filters to cause restriction of diesel flow, promote corrosion and pitting in fuel pump and injectors to cause uneven and unregulated fuel supply and large biomass forced through the filters can cause incomplete combustion.
The emulsifying agents produced by bacteria help moisture to get emulsified with diesel and gets injected into the cylinders to cause corrosion in pistons and piston rings. All these factors contribute to filter blocking, lack of power, fuel pump and injector malfunction, increased smoke, engine noise and vibration.
Less efficient and degraded diesel cannot produce the required power from each combustion stroke from the injected volume. This will result in more fuel volume to be injected resulting in increased fuel consumption.
The diesel filter is an important component in a precisely balanced fuel system. Any malfunction in the fuel filter affects the engine performance adversely. Biomass and slime produced by bacteria block the fine filter elements in a very short time causing fuel starvation.
The solution: A New Zealand-based company has come out with a decontaminant (magnetic fluid conditioner) on the brand name "Fuel Mag" which is being increasingly used to address the problem effectively.
"It provides a permanent and environment-friendly alternative to biocides which can damage the environment if not used properly. The immediate visible benefits noticed are, vehicle becoming smooth, reduced smoke, reduced gear shifting and better power output as a result of cleaner combustion," says the CEO of Petromar, Quaid Zohar.
You have a right to protect your diesel engine and so do you have a duty to protect the environment from pollution. What are you waiting for? Do something before it is too late.
B. M. G .
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