By solving “grey diesel”, Aquafighter is revolutionizing results for the fueling industry by improving fuel-quality, recovering off-spec diesel and maintaining healthier fuel tanks & pipelines.

Aquafighter Technology, developed in 2015, has become a foundational technology for solving frontline diesel storage, logistics and dispensing challenges for fuel companies.  Per Jahnsrud, CEO of DieselCare AS in Kongsvinger, Norway; developed the Aquafighter technology after years of research to reduce the effects of water accumulation, bacteria-growth and corrosion in diesel fuel and in fuel tanks.  As someone who has been handling diesel fuel and cleaning fuel tanks since the 1970’s, seeing every kind of fuel and tank problem ad nauseum, Mr. Jahnsrud was further spurred in his development of Aquafighter by the introduction of biodiesel.  “Once bio was added to diesel; bacteria-growth, corrosion and other water-rooted issues began to increase exponentially.  While water accumulation is certainly a problem, the biggest problem has become the “grey diesel” which is when water emulsifies into the fuel to create a hidden cache of moisture that is mostly missed by service teams and is rarely reported to management.  In fact, even today, most fuel professionals either don’t know about grey diesel or they ignore it completely,” explains Per Jahnsrud.  Vegetable Ghee Production Plant

Grey diesel is diesel fuel that has absorbed water into its chemical structure in the form of “bound water” and comprises the fuel layers at the very bottom of the fuel tank, directly above existing free-water or on top of sludge formation.  Biodiesel is 15 to 25 times more hygroscopic than petroleum diesel, which is why it absorbs water so much faster and with more bonding strength than petroleum diesel.  Per Jahnsrud clarifies, “When we started with B5, we immediately noticed a significant increase in bacteria growth, filter blockages and off-spec diesel.  As you can imagine, this makes much more maintenance work and causes much more fuel to become off-spec which is expensive in fuel losses, waste fees, work hours and customer complaints.  While water accumulation at the bottom of the tank is certainly a problem, grey diesel can pose a much more severe problem because it is hidden, and it is rarely properly managed.”  The problems with grey diesel are myriad, but there are 4 primary liabilities caused by this water-heavy fuel.

Grey diesel can cause bacteria-growth at the same rate as free water. Even when water paste is not indicating the presence of water, this does not mean that there is not water as water paste does not indicate grey diesel and it is not completely accurate with smaller amounts of free-water accumulation.  This water-borne bacteria-growth leads to increased tank corrosion, fuel contamination and filter changes. (Visible bacteria growth is caused by naturally occurring bacteria that multiplies with the presence of water which contains oxygen.)

As moisture is constantly emulsifying into fuel, off-spec diesel gradually grows toward the suction line which is typically 15cm above the bottom of the tank. If this grey diesel reaches the suction line it will trigger a shutdown of the station and often causes customer damage and other capital equipment deterioration.  However, most often the case is this bad diesel is stirred into the upper layers of fuel when the tank is refilled, and it is dispensed to customers in the form of lower quality fuel. (This is why “in the know” people do not purchase fuel at a station when they see a delivery truck present.)

Just as with bacteria-growth, grey diesel causes corrosion at the same rate as free water. Since there is the same amount of oxygen in bound water as in free-water, corrosion will occur at the same rate with both.  As with all tank environments, whether metal or fiberglass, the corrosion pollution mixes with fuel and is pushed through the dispensing equipment that is ultimately delivered to customers.  Metal and fiberglass particles are tiny bullets that cause pitting and abrasions in dispensing equipment, fuel injectors and in engines. (Steel corrosion is caused by water, biocides and fuel additives; while fiberglass corrosion is caused by fuel additives & biocides and worsened by the presence of water.  As well, most fuel additives and all biocides are designed to combat the effects of water.)

As water destroys just about every physical asset, it does the same to fuel. When water is exposed to fuel it will degrade that fuel by breaking down its combustible and beneficial chemical properties.  Again, this is the reason that most fuel additives are added to fuel; which is to prevent the negative effects of moisture.

It should also be noted that emulsified water is the reason that solid particles get trapped in fuel.  When water is removed from fuel, particles are also removed as water is the strength that holds large and small particles within the fuel layers.  In a recent study by DieselCare concluded at Saybolt Laboratories in Sweden, the results verified that even in refinery quality diesel Aquafighter further reduces water content (from 63ppm water to 49ppm water), and within this 14ppm of water removal; micro-particles were reduced by 60%.  This has been further proven through DieselCare’s work with fuel companies in recovering off-spec diesel where 100% of laboratory testing showed that even fuel at over 1000ppm water was reduced to less than 60ppm water with the use of Aquafighter.  “While we have proven the ability to fix bad diesel, the ultimate goal is prevention and to make sure fuel never gets off-spec in the first place,” says Steve Schultz of DieselCare AS.

Steve Schultz continues, “Whether it’s at a fuel depot, a fuel station or in any other fuel tank; Aquafighter Solutions genuinely revolutionize the way fuel and fuel tanks are managed.  From creating and maintaining the best fuel quality outside of an airport to keeping tanks bacteria-free; we offer our customers and service partners a set of solutions that exceeds the results of any other solution or combination of solutions.  And this claim is laboratory verified more than 10,000 times with major fuel producers.”

“We have been managing diesel station operations for fuel companies since 2017.  Within this diesel regimen we keep tanks clean, we keep pipelines clear, we reduce filter changes, we maintain fuel purity, we recover grey diesel and we prevent future off-spec diesel from developing,” says CEO Per Jahnsrud.  Within a robust program designed in concert with one of the world’s largest fuel companies, DieselCare AS has developed a fuel-quality and tank maintenance program that offers results that were not possible before the development of the Aquafighter Technology.  DieselCare Vice President Tommy Jahnsrud, “The Aquafighter Technology is the star of the show, but the structure of our services, reporting transparency, organization and the utilization of our technology within this program are the supporting cast that provides elite fuel service solutions for fuel stations and fuel depots that will completely upgrade the outcomes that fuel companies can achieve.”

“Water is the worst thing for diesel storage, and it is inescapable for every fuel tank.  Aquafighter gets the water out and that solves 90% of the problems that we face in the diesel and fuel tank business,” says Per Jahnsrud.  With multiple international fuel companies, farming coops and telecoms utilizing Aquafighter; fuel operators worldwide can now solve much of their fuel quality and tank maintenance challenges with simple solutions that stop water before it can cause the wide-ranging domino-effect of complications and unnecessary costs.

“We look forward to sharing our technologies and solutions with companies around the world.  By stopping the accumulation of grey diesel, we can greatly improve fuel quality, slow tank corrosion and significantly reduce bacteria-growth across the board.  While we are quite busy with a great initial response from several major fuel companies in Europe and the Middle East; we are creating a strong partner network to provide our superior solutions in regions around the world to serve as many diesel operators as capacity can sustain.” concludes Steve Schultz.

New Total Tank Maintenance and Fuel Quality Management Solution based on the Aquafighter® Technology Platform

DieselCare AS – Aquafighter® Industriveien 29 2212 Kongsvinger Norway

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