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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/121500
MARKETING & SUPPLY BY JOHNGAITHER, PetroClear® New report identifies probable causes of ULSD UST corrosion and indicates that proper dispenser filtering can help prevent damage to the vehicle's fueling system ADDRESSING CONCERNS OVER EXCESSIVE ULSD UST CORROSION T he acronyM ulsD, short for ultra-loWsulfur diesel, became a permanent part of the motor-fuel vernacular in the United States in June 2006. It was at that time that a new federal regulation from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went into effect. Known as the "Clean Air Highway Diesel" rule, it mandated a 97 percent reduction in the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel. Accordingly, refiners were required to alter the composition of the diesel fuel that they produced so that it contained only 15 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur, which was a drastic reduction from the previous 500-ppm threshold. Within the same time frame, the Energy Policy Act of 2005's Renewable Fuel Standard, which was amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, mandated a significant increase in the production and use of biofuels in the U.S. This included ethanol, which is now present at a level of 10 percent in more than 90 percent of the gasoline that is sold in the United States. Since 2007, both ULSD and gasoline containing ethanol have been present at retail, commercial and fleet fueling sites across the country. Also present since that time are complaints that ULSD can cause serious issues, mainly excessive corrosion of the underground storage tanks (USTs) and in the equipment that is used to dispense the fuel. Often when this corrosion is found the dispenser fuel filter is being blamed, mainly because the filters are becoming fouled with what has been termed a "metallic coffee-ground-type substance" and need to be changed more frequently. However, a September 2012 report from the Batelle Memorial Institute, commissioned and funded by the Clean 20 APril 2013 Diesel Fuel Alliance and American Petroleum Institute, shows that impurities in ULSD, including the unexpected presence of trace ethanol, may in fact be causing the corrosion. This means that the dispenser fuel filter is performing a valuable service by arresting the corrosive particulates before they can reach a vehicle's fueling system. It was also the increasing frequency with which dispenser filters were becoming fouled and needing to be changed that alerted fuelsite operators that excessive UST corrosion may be the root cause of the problem, which prompted further investigation. The Batelle report, Corrosion in Systems Storing and Dispensing Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), Hypothesis Investigation, highlights the results of tests conducted on a total of six USTs in three separate regions of the country—three in California, two in New York and one in North Carolina. Fuel, water bottoms, vapors, bottom sediments and scrape samples were taken from all six tanks and were analyzed for genetic material and chemical characteristics. Analysis of the data allowed Batelle to draw conclusions with respect to three working hypotheses: • Aerobic and anaerobic microbes are producing by-products that are establishing a corrosive environment in ULSD systems • Aggressive chemical specie(s) (e.g., acetic John Gaither, PE, is the Director of Engineering for PetroClear®, part of FRAM Filtration, which is a quality and technology leader and one of the world's largest manufacturers of filters, filtration products and related services to the automotive, retail, onhighway and off-highway fleet, heavy-duty and fuel-dispensing industries. PetroClear® is a leading global brand of fuel-dispenser filters from FRAM Filtration. To contact John Gaither, please email him at John. Gaither@FramGrp.com. For more information on PetroClear® products, please visit www. petroclear.com. NPN Magazine n www.npnweb.com