Current technologies for the prevention of microorganisms in fuel tanks

There is currently a wide variety of qualitative methods that allow the detection of micro-organisms specifically in fuels in a quick and easy way, as they do not require much sample preparation; it should be noted that when assessing microbiological contamination in fuel, the aqueous phase present at the bottom should be taken into account, as this is where the highest microbial load will be found. Generally, one of the best treatments for the control and mitigation of micro-organisms in fuels is good cleaning practices, such as tank cleaning and periodic water drainage. However, this type of cleaning is difficult to perform on a regular basis, as it entails high costs, in addition to lost sales per cleaning days per year.

It should be noted that this type of maintenance is considered high risk due to tank degassing, disconnection of electrical and pneumatic systems, among others. Therefore, this type of maintenance should be carried out in addition to microbiological control. Among the methods used by ESD to combat background problems and microbiological contamination are the following:

ïMicrofiltration equipment. These are systems that are installed upstream of the pump to filter the fuel leaving the storage tank and delivered to the consumer's vehicle. They have filters of between 3 and 5 microns, which ensures a high retention of contaminating particles.

ï Tank cleaning. Also called dialysis, it consists of the recirculation of the fuel located at the bottom of the tank, by means of a probe. This probe extracts the fuel from the bottom, passes it through a series of filters, which retain the different contaminants. Finally, the clean fuel is returned to the storage tank.

These methods do not guarantee the removal of biofilms adhering to the storage tank walls or the reduction of the microbiological load in the fuel. They are generally used to improve the appearance of the fuel at the bottom of the tank or to remove possible water deposits.

In our case we incorporate elements that disinfect the fuel and when it is returned to the tank, it is done in such a way that all impurities and microorganisms are eliminated, so that during the time the machine is working, all are filtered and pass through the disinfection chamber of our machine.

Emphasis should be placed on the quality of the disinfection process, where no additives or biocides need to be added to the fuel and the quality of the fuel is not degraded in the process.

FDR System is a machine that has the capacity to clean, refine and disinfect the fuel contained in hydrocarbon tanks (ships, vehicles, petrol stations, fuel tanks of distributors, etc.).

The present invention covers the need for an easy, definitive, economical and effective solution to this problem, as the solutions currently available on the market do not meet any of these characteristics.

This patent is already on sale.

Further information: www.fdrsystem.com