Customer Use Case Data Centre:
Diesel and diesel tank maintenance is critical to protecting your assets. Water is diesel's greatest enemy. Water accelerates microbial growth and oxidation in diesel, damages the metal surfaces in tanks and associated pipework (rust), and dramatically reduces the service life of the motors, destroying injectors.
During a routine generator service, one of the generators failed to start. The problem was traced back to the diesel. The filters were blocked, and the water filters were full of water rather than diesel. Samples of all four tanks were sent off for testing. All four failed, being categorised as grade D diesel.
The initial recommendation from the generator service agent and laboratory was to dispose of the contaminated diesel. Then, have the tanks cleaned and refill them with new diesel. This process was estimated to cost $100,000, which included:
• Disposal of 11,000 litres of diesel
• Cleaning of all tanks, including day tanks and pipe work
• Purchase of 11,000 litres of new diesel
This is a Data Centre site with two Penske Gensets, each serviced by 500-litre day tanks and 5,000-litre main tanks. The gensets and tanks are above ground and exposed to weather elements.
The Customers were uncomfortable with the initial recommendations, seeing a significant environmental issue with dumping 11,000 litres of diesel and the potential costs. At this stage, PFM Blue was engaged in developing an alternative solution. Initially, PFM conducted a review of the site and found:
• No housekeeping or maintenance had been performed on the tanks for over three years.
• Breather filters were not equipped to filter water.
• Tank hatch seals had deteriorated due to sun exposure, compromising watertight.
• Water filters between the main and day tanks were saturated, causing water to enter the day tanks.
After reviewing all the information and the diesel test results, PFM was confident they could clean the tanks and recover the diesel. PFM was engaged to clean the tanks and recover the diesel. The following work was carried out:
• Free water and particulates were removed from the bottom of the tanks.
• 100 litres of water and 60 kg of sludge and solid particulates were extracted.
• The diesel in the 2 5,000 lt tanks was recirculated multiple times with the PFM GP6000 cleaning unit, and filtered
down to 1 micron.
• The diesel in the 2 500 lt day tanks was recirculated multiple times with the PFM GP3000 cleaning unit and
filtered down to 1 micron.
After the tank was cleaned and the diesel processed, it was retested, returning to a grade A pass.
PFM Cleaning Saved the Customer:
• Savings: The customer saved the substantial costs of disposing and replacing 11,000 litres of diesel.
• Environmental: The solution prevented 11,000 litres of diesel from being dumped, which would have had a
significant environmental impact.
• Operational Efficiency: The data centre's operations were restored without the extensive downtime that would
have resulted from tank cleaning and fuel replacement.
Millions of litres of Diesel are stored all over New Zealand, much of which is minimally maintained. Modern diesel engines are precision machines. Injectors are now as small as 2 microns and 50,000 psi. Even a small amount of water will do irreversible damage to injectors, fuel pumps, pistons and bores. In this example, one of the Gensets did start. However, because of the high water content in diesel, new injectors and fuel pumps are required. Repairing this Genset will cost more than $40,000 in parts and labour.
Standby generators allow businesses to continue when mains power is interrupted. However, the investment in these generators and the security they provide, are lost with poor fuel maintenance.
PFM Blue products can recover severely contaminated diesel, and its recirculation units can ensure that this does not happen again.