Kennet Boater wrote: > Thankyou for the advice Tony, I will think about what you have said. > > Two quick questions though, what is a "fuel bug" and its effects on > the fuel/engine and where can I get the biocide to treat/cure it. > > I would really like to stay with the biodiesel as it is so much > better for the enviroment and this is ONE of the major reasons my > family live afloat.
Boat tanks "breathe". In the sunshine (!) they expell air, at night they suck in air (but of course *damp* air - above the water!). If the tank is left part full then the amount of air exchanged is larger than a full tank of diesel. Eventually (in both types of diesel - just at different rates) some water will separate, bacteria can then grow in this water and lead to a growth that can block filters etc. Adding a good additive with do two jobs... 1. Increase the solubility of water to prevent a separate layer - additive typically have polyethylene glycols in them 2. Kill any bugs present. I use FuelSet - I suspect there are others here who use something else. The biodiesel has a greater hazard as the bacteria can "eat" the fuel - biodiesel is an ester of a long chain acid (methyl oleate, methyl stearate, etc), and the batceria (+ water ) can break these compounds down. Normal diesel is a hydrocarbon cut and does not easily break down. I add a story picked up some time ago on a science group... >> City Halts Use of Pure Biodiesel Fuel, >> Citing Build-Up of Bacteria Mold >> MATTHEW ARTZ / Berkeley Daily Planet v.6, i.99, 18mar2005 >> >> Responding to the engine failure of two city trucks last year, city >> leaders in January scrapped its two-year-old program to power its >> fleet of nearly 200 trucks entirely on a derivative of vegetable oil. >> The move, Public Works Director Renee Cardinaux said, came after >> consultant Randall Von Weder determined bacteria mold found in the >> cleaner burning fuel had clogged engine filters and fuel injection >> pipes. >> >> Von Weder, of Point Richmond-based CytoCulture, said despite the >> city's troubles with biodiesel, he never recommended that the city >> return to diesel, and said the best solution would be for the city >> use a 50-50 blend of biodiesel and a clean burning regular diesel. >> >> In January 2003 Berkeley won much acclaim by becoming the first U.S. >> city to convert its fleet to 100 percent biodiesel, which emits 50 >> percent fewer cancer and asthma-causing particulate emissions than >> regular diesel oil. Last year the federal Environmental Protection >> Agency awarded Berkeley the Environmental Award for Outstanding >> Achievement for the program. >> >> But after smooth sailing for the first year, Cardinaux said the city >> started receiving fuel of degraded quality from its vendor Golden >> Gate Petroleum. >> >> "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get a biodiesel fuel recently >> that is consistently clean," Cardinaux said. Presently, he added, the >> city has returned to using a blend of 80 percent diesel and 20 >> percent biodiesel. >> >> For next year, Cardinaux has proposed switching the city's fleet to >> ultra-low sulfur diesel, a move he said would save the city $160,000 >> on fuel cost as compared to 100 percent biodiesel. >> >> Any switch away from biodiesel would meet opposition from the Ecology >> Center, which has operated the city's recycling program with trucks >> powered on 100 percent biodiesel since 2001. >> >> "We're still committed to it," said David Williamson [at right - >> photo by Penni Gladstone/SF Chronicle], the Center's assistant >> director. >> >> Because the Ecology Center uses the same pump as the city, Williamson >> said that its trucks are now also running on a blend of mostly >> regular diesel. >> >> Biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel each have their deficiencies, >> said Mark Jacobson, an associate professor of civil and environmental >> engineering at Stanford University. He said biodiesel emits up to 10 >> percent more nitrogen oxide, which produces ozone and contributes to >> smog, while ultra-low sulfur emits more hydrocarbons which contribute >> to global warming and have been shown to cause cancer. >> >> "The bottom line is that they're both polluters," he said. >> >> Ultra-low sulfur's competitive advantage comes both from its lower >> price and its support from the California Air Resources Board. Next >> year all commercial diesel pumps in the state will have to switch to >> the fuel, said CARB spokesperson Gennet Paauwe. >> >> Biodiesel will still be permitted for sale and use in California, she >> added, but institutional users like Berkeley will run the risk of a >> penalty if their biodiesel doesn't meet ultra-low sulfur emission >> standards. >> >> "If we find consistent problems with an individual fleet, the owner >> will get slapped with a fine," she said. >> >> Because of biodiesel's higher nitrogen oxide emissions, Paauwe said, >> the CARB still doesn't distinguish biodiesel from regular diesel. >> >> Algae-like bacteria that have sidelined Berkeley trucks also live in >> regular diesel fuel, Williamson said, but are more common in >> biodiesel. >> >> "Since biodiesel is so close to vegetable oil, the microbes just eat >> it," he said. >> >> Since converting to biodiesel, city trucks have experienced high >> instances of sludge build-up under their engine valves and fungus >> growth affecting fuel pumps, said Ed Silva, the city's senior >> equipment supervisor. He added that the two trucks to experience >> engine failure were 18-wheel hauling rigs and that the city has had >> to upgrade the fuel line systems in its garbage trucks to make them >> impermeable to the corrosive effects of the fuel. >> >> "We never had these problems when we were using regular diesel," >> Silva said. >> >> Williamson said the Ecology Center recently had trouble with one of >> its recycling trucks attributable to biodiesel bacteria growth. >> Williamson though said the Ecology Center still favored biodiesel, >> because unlike ultra-low sulfur the fuel is not refined nor does it >> require energy to be extracted from the earth. >> >> Von Wedel, Berkeley's biodiesel consultant, said that bigger city >> trucks had experienced problems with 100 percent biodiesel and that >> the fuel appeared to decompose a lot of their rubber components. He >> attributed the problems to a lack of quality fuel and the overall >> youth of the industry. Although European cities use biodiesel, he >> said, Berkeley was the first city worldwide to use the fuel for its >> entire fleet. >> >> Golden Gate Petroleum Operations Manager Claude Brown said his >> company was working to address Berkeley's concerns, but contended >> that biodiesel sold to the city was top quality. He said the city's >> problem could stem from the presence of water in their storage >> tanks, which promotes algae growth. >> >> Since Berkeley became the first city to go 100 percent biodiesel, two >> cities, Telluride, Colo. and Coconut Creek, Fla. have followed suit, >> said Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board. >> >> source:http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=03-18-05&storyID... >> 18mar2005 Ron Jones Process Safety & Development Specialist Don't repeat history, unreported chemical lab/plant near misses at http://www.crhf.org.uk Only two things are certain: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not certain about the universe. ~ Albert Einstein
