The use of heating oil is important for each and every division of different industries. The heating systems should be reliable and should have efficiency at work. But in many of the situations, the users have to deal with heating oil contamination due to many of the reasons. This can be due to the water collection and growth of microbes. This can also be due to the reason for collecting dust and debris. The fuel contamination can lead to blockages in the filters, damages in the burners, and corrosion in the pipes and tanks. The heating oil contamination effect can result in high expenses for maintenance.

For best results, you need to understand the basic causes of dirty heating oil and find the solutions for them. When you find that the heating machine is not working well and there is unusual noise and smell coming from the boiler you should immediately call an expert and/or professional. You should also work on the constant level of maintenance of the machine and work on using various kinds of enhancers for the fuel. You have to work on cleaning up the system and avoid problems in the future.

This article will guide you in gaining awareness of the basics of fuel contamination and how to deal with it.

Initiatives To Prevent Heating Oil Contamination  

You have to work on preventing heating oil contamination by following the safety standards and buying the fuel from a reputed supplier. The tank should also be installed in a proper way.

Regular check-ups of the tank: Perform regular check-ups on the heating oil machine. This will verify the issues in the early stage and will manage the efficiency of the operations.

Regular testing of fuel:  The fuel should also be checked regularly. This will be added by checking the fuel pressure, the level of its composition, and fuel flow. This will reduce the heating oil contamination effect.

Proper level of storage: The fuel should be stored in a safe container. This container should be approved and the storage of fuel will be based on its type and quality. There are rules to store fuel from 30 litres to 3500 litres.

Use of fuel stabilisers: You can work with the use of fuel stabilisers. These are the forms of chemicals that save the diesel and the forms of gasoline from degradation. This is used when the fuel is stored for a long time.

Checking the fuel lines: Work on checking the workflow of the fuel lines. This can be checked by looking at any corrosion and/or cracks. The junctions and connections should also be checked properly. You can also use various analytical tools for this.

Water removal: If the fuel tank is having any water ingress you should drain it and refill the tank with fresh fuel.  In this, you can work with the use of various additives that work to clean dirty heating oil. There are many of the fuel filters that have been prepared to clean the water from the fuel.

Temperature control: The tank of heating oil should have the proper level of temperature and flash point. For a particular kind of PEM fuel cell, the range of temperature should be 60 degrees C to 80 degrees C. With this, the flash points of diesel should be nearly 52 degrees C and for kerosene it should be 36 degrees C to 72 degrees C. You can also work with thermal management systems and strategies for cooling.

Reducing space of air: The fuel machine should have a reduced level of space of air. For this, you have to work with the units of fuel lines on the proper level of venting. The fuel injectors should also be checked for this.

Use of high-quality filters: You can use high-quality fuel filters as they can remove contaminants easily. They work to protect the responsive parts of the machine. The right kind of fuel filters you can get from brands like Microtech Filters, WASP PFS, Halfords etc.

Precautions taken on fuel delivery:  The right kind of delivery can always reduce the heating oil contamination effect. The delivery should be prevented from any kind of accidents and fire. Companies like Compass Energy, NWF Fuels etc work for safe deliveries of fuel.

Use of Additives and Biocides: Heating oil contamination can be checked and rechecked by applying the substances of biocides. They work to control the organisms that are harmful in the fuel.

Driver Complaints: Management of the safe use of heating oil can be done by drivers’ complaints. These are made by the issues related to vehicles, drivers, and companies. The drivers can report to the DVSA or Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Fuel polishing and uplift: The substances of dirty heating oil can be checked by fuel uplift and fuel polishing. They work to clean the fuel that has been stored for a long time and remove the collected sediments. These methods also work for transferring and disposal of fuel in a safe location.

Things To Consider If The Heating Oil Gets Contaminated

You can work on recognising the heating oil contamination and heating oil contamination effect by doing manual tests and tests done in the laboratory.

1. Identifying The Fuel Contaminations 

The contamination level of the fuel should be identified first.

Visual inspections: You can work on doing the visual inspections to cheque the fuel quality. You can work checking the colour and clarity of the fuel and if there is any existence of dust and debris. Dirty heating oil can have a cloudy appearance.

Tests of smell: The fuel that will be degraded will have an unusual smell and this smell will be different from the smell of an ordinary petrol and/or diesel.

Checking the noises from the engine: The engine can have unwanted noises. They can be like the noises of ticking, grinding, and knocking. This will show that the fuel has low levels inside the tank and/or there are fuel leaks in the machine.  

2. Professional Level Of Testing 

After doing the visual testing the fuel is tested by the professionals.

Fuel testing in the lab: The levels of heating oil contamination can be checked in the lab. Here the fuel is tested for its viscosity and density with the available flash points. They are also checked for Octane and Cetane levels.

On-site testing: Fuel can also be tested on-site. These tests are done to find if there is any other possible issue. This is done for fuel blending verification and analysis of fuel properties.

ATP testing: The heating oil contamination effect can be checked by ATP testing. Here the fuel samples are collected and ATP removals and reactions are checked. ATP tests are done to find if the fuel has any microbial growth.  

3. Taking The Immediate Actions

After doing various tests of the dirty heating oil there are some steps that need to be taken immediately.

Prevention of leaks and spills: Fuel leaks and fuel spills should be prevented. This can be done by the proper storage of the fuel. The tank where it will be stored should be bunded.

Cleaning the affected area: The heating oil contamination can be reduced by cleaning the area of fuel spills. For this, you can use various absorbent materials and various solutions.

Making the area properly ventilated: The area where the fuel is stored and/or has fuel spills should have the proper level of ventilation. This will reduce the chances of air pollution and fire hazards.

Checking the environmental effects: There should be an assessment of heating oil contamination effect on the environment. This can be checked by looking at groundwater and soil damages and damages in the shoreline.

Connecting with professionals: For managing the degradation of heating oil you can also take advice from various professionals. You can get advice on different online platforms. You can also make a direct call to the experts.

Disposal of contaminated fuel: The fuel that is contaminated should be disposed of in an area that is far from human, habitat, and nature. You should make a call to the local authorities about this.

Notifying the insurer: You should also inform your insurer about the heating oil contamination effect. Here you have to mention the structure of time and date with the other situations of fuel contamination. 

Devices for anti-siphoning: Fuel contamination is also connected with the siphoning of fuel. You can use various devices to protect the heating oil from siphoning. They can be like various alarms, tank cages, and CCTV camera installation. There are also devices like TankSafe Shield and FuelDefend.

Maintaining the industry standards: You have to protect the fuel from becoming dirty heating oil. For this, you have to follow the standards and policies like EN 590 for using diesel, and for kerosene and gasoline, you have to follow the standards of BS 2869.

4. Modern Technologies And  Fuel Quality Testing 

There are also many modern technologies that you can adapt to cheque and verify the heating oil contamination. Let’s have a look at some of them.

OptiMate & OptiConnect: These are the remote controlling systems that work for checking the dirty heating oil and enhancing the functionality of a good quality fuel.

FUELSTAT: The test kits of FUELSTAT work for checking the heating oil contamination effect especially when it is diesel. It works for checking the growth of microorganisms in the fuel.

VisiLevel: This is a gauging structure that works with a technology to verify the temperature inside the tank, and the volume of the fuel in it with its colour and density.

Winter-grade Fuel: This is a kind of heating oil used in the UK, especially in the winter. It works for the prevention of the gelling of fuel and creating blockages in the fuel filters.

The Bottom Line

You have to adopt a proactive approach when you have to deal with heating oil contamination and the heating oil contamination effect. Your active steps and initiatives will prevent the heating machine from any high level of expenses done to its repairs.

When you will get the signs of the degradation you should immediately stop the machine. In the first step, you can have manual and visual check-ups and in the next step, you should call an expert.

The heating oil that is completely contaminated should be disposed of and new fuel should be inserted in the container. You should work on using fuel additives to cheque the dirty heating oil.

Taking action quickly and being completely responsible will help you to have safe usage of fuel and fuel tanks in the time-frame of a whole year.