off road diesel mandate exposes need - cleaner fuel hydac
TRANSCRIPT
New diesel engines used in off-road equipment for construction,
agriculture and power generation must be “Tier 4” compliant
by 2018 to meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
emissions standards that reduce the allowable levels of particulate
matter and nitrogen oxides (NOX). The Tier 4 standards have been
required since 2011 for diesel trucks and buses on U.S. and European
highways. (Europe’s version of the standards is known as “Stage IV.”)
By Aaron Keck and Rob Sabo
OFF-ROAD DIESELMANDATE EXPOSESNEED: CLEANER FUEL
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To meet the standards, new
off-road equipment — excavators,
farm tractors, heavy forklifts, airport
ground service equipment, generators,
pumps, compressors, etc. — is being equipped with a variety
of emission control technologies, including exhaust aftertreat-
ment systems, electronic engine controls and sensors. The
changes have boosted performance and reduced emissions,
but they’ve also increased the owners’ cost and associated
expenses. What’s more, the fuel systems in these new engines
are faced with significant design constraints as a result of three
key changes in the diesel industry:
1. The use of high-pressure common rail (HPCR) fuel
injection systems.
2. The conversion to ultra-low
sulfur diesel (ULSD).
3. The addition of biodiesel
fuel blends to the stock
diesel fuel.
HPCR INJECTION SYSTEMSDiesel fuel injection systems
are changing dramatically to
provide cleaner combustion
and meet Tier 4 requirements. Today’s fuel systems
boast injection rail pressures of up to 43,500 pounds per
square inch (psi) conditions compared with the 1,000- to
3,000-psi systems in mechanical fuel injectors from the
1990s. In addition, fuel system component tolerances are
New off-road equipment is
being equipped with emission
control technologies
including exhaust after-
treatment systems, electronic
engine controls and sensors.
5 8 | P E I . O R G | Second Quarter 2016
now as small as 1 micron — one-fortieth of what the eye
can see.
With the new generation of high-performance, low-
tolerance diesel fuel systems, the need for cleaner fuel has
become increasingly apparent.
Equipment owners, operators and fleet managers are
experiencing more repair and downtime costs, thanks to poor
fuel quality in Tier 4 engines. Many of these failures are the
results of inadequate fuel filtration leading up to the point
of injection.
Numerous Tier 4 engines require a fuel cleanliness
level of 11/8/6 at injection and 15/13/10 in the fuel tank.
(The three numbers correspond to the number of particles
of a size greater than 4, 6 and 14 microns per milliliter of
fuel, respectively.)
According to the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) 4406, the Worldwide Fuel Charter
standards at storage are 18/16/13, a dissolved water con-
tent less than 200 parts per million (ppm) and no free or
emulsified water.
ULSD 15 AND BIODIESEL BLENDSULSD and the addition of biodiesel blends of B2 to B20
have added two more challenges to achieving the fuel clean-
liness levels needed by today’s new engines and fuel storage
systems. The removal of sulfur during refining also removes
some of the natural lubricity compounds, so anti-wear additives
must be blended with the fuel.
Typically, ULSD 15 is hydrophilic with saturation
levels between 25 and 100 ppm at room temperature. The
addition of biodiesel causes these saturation points to rise
dramatically: B2 up to 250 ppm; B5 to 500 ppm; and B20
to 1,600 ppm. As free water appears in the storage tanks, bac-
terial growth and premature degradation of the fuel storage
systems can occur.
Until recently, filtration technology has not kept up.
Absorption technology easily can be overwhelmed by all of the
water and result in many more element change outs than in
the past.
This drives up filter costs, requires extra maintenance
and, in some cases, leads to lost business. When one retailer’s
Second Quarter 2016 | P E I J O U R N A L | 5 9
dispensers clog up, customers natu-
rally will turn to another retailer for
their diesel.
Coalescing technology also has
not improved, with cellulose still being the most commonly
used media. Under current conditions, there are three major
problems with this technology:
1. The reduction of overall water-removal efficiencies
compared with the past.
2. The water that can overwhelm the filters, saturate the
cellulose and destroy the media (think of wet card-
board) if not properly drained.
3. The formation of ice crystals on the media in low tem-
peratures. This can cause additional
cold start issues, allow water to
enter the injector systems and foster
microbial growth.
TODAY’S OUTDATED FILTRATION STRATEGIES FOR CONTAMINATION CONTROL
Typically, absorptive filters and
coalescing filters applied at the point
of dispensing have been used for
contamination control. These are typically spin-on style filters
providing filtration of particles down to 25-30 microns.
Alternatives for dirty or contaminated tanks include tank
cleaning, polishing services, kidney loop systems and microbial
“spiking” agents (to kill bacteria). Although these systems can
In most cases, one cannot
get the required ISO levels
in today’s fuel systems
through a single-pass
particulate and water-
removal media at the point of
dispensing.
6 0 | P E I . O R G | Second Quarter 2016
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clean and polish the fuel, they usually do so with no particle
count measurements, water tests or ASTM 975 fuel testing.
In most cases, the benchmark for success is simply how clean
the fuel looks afterward.
These realities pose several problems.
First, in most cases, one cannot get to the required ISO
levels in today’s fuel systems through a single-pass particulate
and water-removal media at the point of dispensing. This is
especially true if the bulk fuel delivered to the storage tank is
contaminated or dirty. Bulk fuel from delivery trucks, trains or
barges is often between 25/23/21 and 21/19/17.
The use of cleanout services, polishing systems and kidney
loops for permanently installed systems can become costly
and can consume a lot of energy. In addition, cleaning and
polishing services are good only for the fuel in the tank at the
time of service.
Also, when chemicals are used to treat and kill bacteria
in a bulk system, the user is left with dead organisms and
FIGURE 1: ISO 4406 & OEM WORLD CHARTER RECOMMENDATIONS
20/20/18 TYPICAL BULK FUEL
18/16/13 STORAGE AND DRY TANKS
15/13/10 AT VEHICLE TANK
12/9/6 NEEDED AT INJECTORS
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Second Quarter 2016 | P E I J O U R N A L | 6 1
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The three numbers correspond to the number of particles of a size greater than 4, 6 and 14 microns per milliliter of fuel, respectively.
chemical byproducts. Both can have
detrimental effects on fuel quality and
the fuel injection system if allowed
into the combustion chamber of
an engine.
When HPCR pumps and injectors fail, most of these
failures are attributable directly to solid particulates and water
ingression. Figure 2 is an example of failed HPCR system
components. The pitting on the injector poppet is the result of
water. The injector seat is scored from ingressed particulate
and the upstream pump failure.
One catastrophic failure from a 4-liter to 6-liter HPCR
system can cost more than $5,000. This does not include
downtime costs and the inconvenience
of the loss of equipment. Such a failure
also may hamper construction sched-
ules, contribute to the loss of backup
power generation or both.
The solutions mentioned can
be especially effective if used in
conjunction with a good, proactive
maintenance plan. If water can be elim-
inated before it enters the system, most
of the other problems may be mitigated
with little effort. A small infrastructure investment upfront can
be justified by the prevention of one to two HPCR failures
in equipment.
SOLUTIONS, IMPACTS ON MODERN SYSTEMSTo achieve the lowest cost of ownership and meet fuel
system requirements, protect a fuel storage and dispensing
system at every point of transfer.
Start with a clean tank that is free of water and contami-
nates. After that, highly efficient single-pass filtration may be
used at the points of transfer to protect from water and solids.
As Tier 4 engines infiltrate the market, the need for better
filtration is becoming more apparent. Now, fuel filtration is
being addressed from fuel production to the fuel injector.
From the time diesel fuel is produced, particulate filtra-
tion and water removal technologies are needed to ensure
high-quality fuel to the end user.
As the first level of protection, high-flow coalescing filter
vessels can remove particulates down to 3 microns with indi-
vidual vessel flow rates of up to 951 gallons per minute (gpm).
At the point of bulk fuel delivery, the downstream fuel
in storage should be held to an ISO cleanliness code of
18/16/13 and a water content under 200 ppm, according to
the Worldwide Fuel Charter.
A number of bulk diesel filtration products are capable
of flow rates ranging from 70 gpm to 280 gpm using fully
synthetic particulate filtration and a water-removal efficiency
of greater than 99.5 percent in a single pass. A filter skid can
When HPCR pumps
and injectors fail, most
of these failures are
attributable directly to
solid particulates and water
ingression.
6 2 | P E I . O R G | Second Quarter 2016
be applied as a fuel delivery filter or used as part of a high-
flow filtration system to ensure cleaner fuel. A filter cart
at 14 gpm or bulk diesel cart at 25 gpm and 70 gpm also
may be used to clean contaminated fuel tanks to meet
bulk fuel cleanliness recommendations.
Even with these efforts, the fuel in bulk tanks requires
additional filtration to meet the cleanliness required by
most original equipment manufacturers and injection
system manufacturers. For dispensing applications, a fine
filtration solution ensures clean fuel is being dispensed into
the equipment.
To keep out new ingression of water and solids during
filling and dispensing, one also must protect the ingression
of air into a bulk tank system. Desiccant air breathers may be
used to achieve this. In addition to dispensing filtration, each
piece of Tier 4 equipment requires adequate pre-filtration to
prevent fuel quality-related failures, premature engine filter
replacements or both.
Aaron Keck is an Applications Engineer in
Fuel Filtration at HYDAC. Reach him at
Rob Sabo is Group Product Manager for
Fuels at HYDAC. Reach him at
FIGURE 2: FAILED HPCR SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Second Quarter 2016 | P E I J O U R N A L | 6 3
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Pitting on the injector poppet is the result of water. The injector seat is scored from ingressed particulate and the upstream pump failure.