• What is Fuel Polishing:

Fuel polishing is the technical cleaning process used to remove or filter microbial contamination from oil and hydrocarbon fuel in storage. It is essentially the removal of water, sediment, and microbial contamination from such fuels as diesel, dyed diesel, and biodiesel. This sediment builds up over time at the bottom of the tank and eventually starts making it way into the sites fueling equipment, causing the equipment to run less efficient and delaying the fueling prosses and clogging filters.

 

• Who needs Fuel Polishing:  

Fuel polishing is recommend for any diesel tanks that have not been completely emptied and thoroughly cleaned. The build up of sediment occurs over time with each delivery. As new fuel gets delivered to a diesel tank, it mixes with the old fuel and sediment that is settled at the bottom of the tank. This process causes the sediment to mix in the new fuel, contaminating the new fuel that has been delivered to the tank. Over time the sediment settles back to the bottom of the tank where it remains till the next delivery.

 

• How does Fuel Polishing Work:

The process of fuel polishing occurs by removing the fuel form the lowest point of the tank and running the product through a variety of filters that remove the sediment and water particles from the fuel and return the clean fuel back to the holding tank. During this process, the fuel is run through multiple filters that range from 1 to 5 micron, removing 99% of the particles out of the fuel. The fuel is also run through the system multiple times to make sure the fuel is as clean as possible.

 

• How often should fuel polishing be done:  

Fuel polishing is a process that should be done annually on tanks that have moving product (ie. Gas Stations, Slip Tanks) and should be done semi-annually to tanks that have standing fuel that is not in rotation (ie. Generator Tanks, Day Tanks). With generator tanks the fuel is stationary and allows for moister to build up in the fuel causing the growth of sediment, and algae in the fuel. Which could cause issues with the equipment when it they are needed.