bateria in #2 fuel oil

Edward A. (Ed) Carery

Allan,

That is a great description of the sludge issue. Could you guide me to a site or a copy?. I would love to save that for reference and training purposes. If I need to buy the book, no problem.


Ed

smileyman

bateria

serviceman says there is bateria in my fuel oil causing filter and nozzle to stop up,i,ve heard of sludge in a system but bateria?

Ragu

Oil/Water Interface

A chemical engineer explained to me that there is a bacteria or algae that lives where oil and water meet, and that the black goo that we see is the remnants of their dead bodies.

J.C.A._3

Buy your oil.....

From a "full service" dealer. They too know about this phenomina, and treat their oil accordingly.
They're the one that have to maintain and repair the systems that burn their oil, and treating makes their job easier.

Beware. The costs are reflected in the price, as the chemical additives aren't cheap.They ARE however worth the difference in more than 1 way. If the service takes a shorter time to be performed, both of you save. Chris

Alan R. Mercurio_3

And if I may add,

From the NORA Oilheat Technicians manual

Sludge Happens:
Since water is heavier than oil it settles to the bottom of the tank. Bacteria are everywhere, including in oil tanks, the air in oil tanks and the water in the tank. As
many as ten billion bacteria could live in a single pinch of soil! Bacteria grow in the water (they double in number every 20 minutes!). They feed off certain fractions of the
fuel and they break the fuel down into hydrogen, CO2, and carbon rich residue.

Theygenerate sticky slime or gum to protect themselves. This slime binds the bacteria, the residue, the water and the fuel together to form sludge. The sludge grows at the fuelwater interface. Sludge is made of the following: it is mostly water, with degraded fuel giving it color, body, and bulk. Slime is 5% of its weight, while bacteria are only .001% of the weight. Sand and grit are trapped in the sludge. Biological active sludge is corrosive, so rust flakes from the tank and other products of corrosion are also part of the sludge.

Sludge is a natural product that eventually forms in all oil tanks. Adding water and sludge from other tanks accelerates the process. It can build up in the bottom of
tanks for years without causing too many problems. The two factors that cause it to get stirred up and suspended in the fuel are low tank levels and fast deliveries.

Active sludge is corrosive. It slowly eats the tank from the inside. The more immediate problems occur when sludge is stirred up, suspended, and drawn downstream. It sticks to the walls of fuel lines, pitting them and plugging them. It plugs filters, strainers,and nozzles.

The solution to sludge problems is not to let it get started in the first place. Make it a habit of checking tanks for water whenever you go on a tune up or service call. If water is present, remove it and find out where the water came from. Alert management and seek advice. Once you have removed the water you should try to clean the
sludge from the tank and treat the tank with a fuel conditioning additive package.

The dispersant additive breaks up the slime binder of the sludge. It destroys the stickiness.The remaining small particles of degraded fuel drift downstream to be caught in the filter or burned. The corrosion inhibitor protects the tanks and lines while the sludge is dispersing. Biocides kill the bacteria (only after the protective slime is destroyed).Anti-oxidants retard fuel degradation. In some cases the sludge buildup is so great you are better off replacing the tank.

Your friend in the industry,
Alan R. Mercurio

www.oiltechtalk.com

Ron Schroeder

https://www.norastore.org/online_shop.cfm#c20