Improved fuel filtration is becoming a necessity in South Africa
 | Press Release_Improved fuel filtration is becoming a necessity in South Africa_approved | 17.73 KB | Download |
 Preview | Filter Focus COO Craig FitzGerald | 2 MB | Download |
 Preview | Local consumers are at risk of facing further unforeseen costs when filling up their tanks as a result of contaminated fuel and | 1.23 MB | Download |
 Preview | South African refineries at present are only attempting to remove sulphur, benzene and aromatics from fuel to reduce emission le | 75.4 KB | Download |
PRESS RELEASE
Improved fuel filtration is becoming a necessity in South Africa
20 January, 2014: With fuel prices currently reaching record highs in South Africa, local consumers are at risk of facing further unforeseen costs when filling up their tanks as a result of contaminated fuel and oil that requires more effective methods of filtration - explains Craig FitzGerald, COO of Filter Focus - a leading wear control expert specialising in the development, design and manufacture of offline filtration systems.
It is therefore, more important than ever to select a lubricant submicron particle filtration system which greatly assists in decreasing the levels of contamination found in fuels and new oils, while extending a vehicle’s fuel system component lifespan by 50 to 80 per cent. The risk of contaminated fuel is a real threat in South Africa, and this is clearly evident in a number of tests that have recently been carried out by Filter Focus on behalf of high-profile clients, including Nedbank and Sasol.
“After analysing the fuel quality at one of Nedbank’s bulk diesel tankers in January 2013, it was found that at below 5 μm - there were 30 034 contaminants. At less than 4 μm, there were 34 400 contaminants per ml, which amounts to approximately 34 million contaminants per litre. After undergoing several hours of micro-fine filtration, the levels of contamination fell to about 50 contaminants at less than 5 μm, and about 100 contaminants below 4 μm,” explains FitzGerald.
An oil filtration trial undertaken for Sasol on new 15W40 engine oil also found that the unfiltered drum at 4 μm contained 17 364 contaminants. After one full pass through the filter system, this level fell to 11 895 contaminants. After 24 hours of filtration the number of contaminants fell to just 294.
South African refineries at present are only attempting to remove sulphur, benzene and aromatics from fuel to reduce emission levels once the fuel is combusted. Sulphur occurs naturally in crude oils and must be removed to an acceptable level during the refining process, as it promotes corrosion and affects the performance of vehicle emissions control equipment. Although sulphur does not affect engine performance directly, it does reduce the efficiency of catalytic converters.
There is no performance or emissions effect on older vehicles not fitted with catalysts, however all vehicles with operating catalysts will show some emissions reduction in fuel sulphur levels, although the magnitude of the effect will vary according to technology employed, vehicle and catalyst condition and driving mode.
A reduction in sulphur levels does have the potential to reduce emissions, in addition to allowing for the introduction of cleaner vehicle technology. Some of the advanced exhaust after-treatment technologies utilised to meet Euro 4 and Euro 5 emissions standards require 50 ppm (m/m) or lower sulphur levels in order for the efficiency of the device to be maintained at optimal levels.
The existing fleet of emission controlled vehicles in South Africa, as well as the significant majority of new vehicles sold, is mostly of technology level below Euro 4, and these vehicles will gain the majority of the reduced sulphur benefit at levels higher than 50 ppm (m/m), with 150 ppm (m/m) being commonly proposed for these vehicle technologies.
Current South African and international specifications
The Sasol synthetic fuel process produces fuel products with low sulphur contents, typically below the 'sulphur-free' threshold of 10 ppm (m/m). The conventional crude oil refineries in South Africa are more constrained in their ability to produce low sulphur fuels.
South African fuel specifications currently allow two distinct fuel grades, namely; metal free unleaded petrol (ULP) which may not contain metal additives, and unleaded petrol containing metal - commonly referred to as Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP).
These two fuel grades have different sulphur specifications. The LRP grade is not intended for use in vehicles with catalysts and is typically dispensed through a large diameter nozzle which will not fit vehicles manufactured after 2001. Therefore, there is no significant benefit to reducing the sulphur content of this grade of fuel.
When refineries remove sulphur from fuel, they must be careful not to affect the lubricity of the diesel. Lubricity is the level of lubrication offered by the diesel. The lower the lubricity levels, the less ability the fuel has to provide lubrication of wetted components. Oil refineries are attempting to counter this by adding lubricity enhancers, as it is the diesel which lubricates fuel system components and pumps in vehicles.
When solids contaminate the fuel, the issue of lubricity becomes a more critical factor. The local and international drive to reduce the levels of sulphur in fuel, combined with efforts to reduce vehicle emissions, is having a detrimental effect on the performance of automotive equipment. Modern fuel systems operate at higher pressures than in the past 30 years, in order to atomise diesel more efficiently.
Diesel is a controlled burn, and therefore burns from the outside in. If a system’s diesel droplets increase in size, the burn period increases accordingly. When diesel is finally atomised, it burns up quickly and less unburnt fuel will exit through a vehicle's exhaust pipe. Original equipment manufacturers have recently been increasing injector and fuel operating pressures, while refineries have been removing sulphur from their diesels.
“What is not being addressed is the contamination in the fuel itself, in the form of rust, sand, dust, water moisture or other forms of contamination. Lower levels of lubricity and higher operating pressures have a sand blasting-type effect on fuel system components and on diesel injectors,” states FitzGerald.
Using contaminated diesel fuels in high pressure engines is a further cause of rapid engine oil deterioration. The effect of the contamination, over time, will result in fuel injectors eroding and, as this occurs, the diesel droplets which have been atomised, start increasing in size.
When an exhaust valve opens in a combustion chamber, fuel will still be burning as result of its increased size. However, when an exhaust valve opens and sucks the burning fuel into a vehicle’s fire box and extinguishes that fire, unburnt hydrocarbons will enter and eventually exit out of the exhaust pipe. Therefore, the vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions increase instead of decreasing.
With the current trends for tighter specifications for both petrol and diesel, it is important that every refinery has a long-term strategy for meeting these new goals. Many of the technologies for upgrading both petrol and diesel to meet ultra low sulphur levels will be licensed, rather than open art. In addition, the offsite facilities will need to be upgraded to enable the handling of these higher specification products and the integration within the refinery will need to be reviewed, as the solutions will not be simple. Refineries will specifically focus on strategy development for meeting clean fuel legislation, while maximising the effectiveness of capital.
A refinery’s cleaner fuels programme needs to be holistic and not solely focus on reducing sulphur levels in fuel. Based on research undertaken on new unused diesel, Filter Focus has found that at the 4 μm level, there are between 15 000 and 50 000 contaminants for every 1 ml of diesel, which equates to between 15 million and 50 million contaminants for every litre of diesel. This is currently regarded by the fuel industry as acceptable.
“I strongly believe that this is not an acceptable level of contamination for a fuel or lubricating system, as contamination in any size or form is detrimental and will cause significant harm to vehicles and industrial equipment. Standard spin-on filtration is currently not up to the task to protect modern equipment,” concludes FitzGerald.
Ends.
Filter Focus Contact
Craig FitzGerald
Chief Operations Officer
Phone: (011) 466 1268
Email: cfitz [at] filterfocus [dot] co [dot] za
Media Contact
Kelly Farthing
NGAGE Public Relations
Phone: (011) 867-7763
Cell: 079 367 7889
Email: Kelly [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.ngage.co.za
Browse the Ngage Media Zone for more client press releases and photographs at http://media.ngage.co.za