Unlocking Peak Performance in Advanced Fuels

by Paul Nazzaro, Advanced Fuel Solutions

The Importance of Additives and Proper Blending

In today’s decarbonizing world, fuel additives are no longer a luxury—they are a necessity for optimizing the performance of diesel, heating oil, and biodiesel blends. Additives provide essential benefits, including improved cold flow protection, enhanced stability, corrosion resistance, water management, and detergency. As the use of biodiesel and renewable diesel expands across sectors such as transportation, residential heating, and industrial applications, maintaining disciplined fuel tank management and blending practices is critical to realizing these advantages.

Fuel Additives: The Unsung Heroes of Fuel Performance

Whether you are dealing with diesel, heating oil, biodiesel, renewable diesel, or a combination, each fuel faces unique environmental and operational challenges. This is where fuel additives play a pivotal role.

• Cold Flow Protection: For anyone in colder climates, fuel gelling or clogging is a genuine concern. Cold flow additives lower the pour point and improve Cold Filter Plugging Points (CFPP), ensuring smooth fuel flow even in harsh conditions. This is particularly important for biodiesel blends, where fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) have higher cloud points than petroleum diesel. Recent innovations allow heating oil dealers to blend up to 50 percent biodiesel while maintaining flowability down to -45°F. While biodiesel blends above B20 are less commonly used in transportation due to manufacturer limitations, fuel treatment professionals can provide solutions for cold weather operability beyond B20.

• Renewable Diesel and Cold Weather: Renewable diesel is often praised for its superior winter performance, but not all renewable diesel is created equal. Cold weather operability depends heavily on the refining process, particularly the depth of isomerization, which alters the fuel’s molecular structure. Deeper isomerization creates more stable fuel, with reduced wax crystal formation and improved cold flow properties. However, renewable diesel’s performance can vary significantly depending on the production facility and processing methods. End-users should carefully evaluate their renewable diesel source, especially in colder climates, to ensure consistent, reliable fuel performance.

• Fuel Stability: Over time, fuels can degrade, leading to sediment, gum, and varnish formations that clog systems and affect performance. Antioxidants and stabilizers prolong fuel life and protect against oxidation, ensuring longevity. Modern treatments offer dual stabilizers, addressing both petroleum and biodiesel components for blended fuels.

• Water Management: Water contamination in fuel systems is a primary cause of microbial growth, corrosion, and reduced fuel efficiency. Additives that emulsify or demulsify water are critical for maintaining fuel integrity. While renewable diesel is often touted as non-hydroscopic, it is still vulnerable to water intrusion in real-world storage. Effective water mediation is key, as it is not just the fuel, but the way it is stored and monitored that counts.

• Corrosion Inhibition: Water in tanks can lead to corrosion, contaminating fuel and damaging equipment. Corrosion inhibitors form protective layers on metal surfaces, extending the life of fuel systems. If pipelines use corrosion inhibitors to protect billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure, downstream users should apply the same rigor to safeguard their tanks.

• Detergents: Over time, deposits accumulate in fuel injectors, pumps, and other components, leading to reduced efficiency and potential equipment failure. Detergent additives clean these systems, ensuring optimal performance. For those committed to delivering high-quality fuel, investing in detergents is an essential long-term strategy.

Blending Biodiesel and Heating Oil: Key Protocols

Blending biodiesel with diesel or heating oil is a common practice as the industry shifts toward reducing carbon emissions. However, maintaining blend quality requires adherence to strict protocols:

• Blend Quality: Ensure your fuels meet their respective ASTM specifications – biodiesel, ASTM D6751; diesel, ASTM D975; and heating oil, ASTM D396 – to avoid issues like instability or equipment malfunctions.
• Temperature Considerations: Biodiesel should be blended at temperatures at least 10°F above its cloud point to prevent gelling and ensure a smooth mixture.
• Agitation: Proper mixing during blending prevents stratification and ensures consistent fuel quality.
• Storage and Handling: Biodiesel blends, especially above B20, require dry, clean storage tanks to prevent water absorption and microbial growth.
• Use of Additives: Blended fuels benefit from additives like cold flow improvers, oxidation stabilizers, and biocides to mitigate performance issues.

Tank Maintenance: The Hidden Hero of Fuel Performance

No matter how advanced the fuel treatment is, its effectiveness can be compromised by poor tank maintenance. Water accumulation, sediment build-up, and microbial growth can degrade even the best-treated fuel. Regular inspections, water removal, and sediment filtration are essential to preserving fuel quality.

For those merely focused on moving volume, ignoring tank maintenance is a costly oversight. Moisture and air can cause degradation, and without proactive management, fuel performance suffers. In an era where fuel quality defines business success, jobbers stuck in outdated practices will find themselves outpaced by those who prioritize fuel system care.

A Call to Action: Don’t Just Sell Fuel—Sell a Solution

From production to end-use, fuel moves through a complex supply chain involving trucks, barges, ships, rail cars, and pipelines before reaching its destination – be it a home, truck stop, or fueling station. Even if fuel is produced to exacting standards, it is the storage facilities along this journey that determine whether it remains fit for use. Water intrusion, contamination, and poor tank conditions can degrade fuel, affecting everything from home heating to transportation performance.

In today’s competitive landscape, the companies that stand out are those offering more than just fuel – they are providing solutions. Fuel additives, disciplined tank maintenance, and precise blending protocols create a value-added proposition that distinguishes you from competitors. Going beyond the “load it, deliver it” mentality and embracing proactive fuel management ensures your customers receive not just fuel, but reliability, performance, and peace of mind.

So, are you ready to elevate your fuel game? Because selling fuel like it’s 1999 is a sure way to get left behind. By committing to excellence in fuel treatment and system maintenance, you become more than a fuel supplier – you become a trusted partner in your customers’ success.

You can find the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide (Sixth Edition) online. This guide provides essential information on handling, blending, storing, and using biodiesel and biodiesel blends, aimed at ensuring proper fuel performance. It is a valuable resource for anyone involved in the blending and distribution of biodiesel, offering best practices that improve fuel reliability across different sectors, including transportation and heating.

Paul Nazzaro is president of Advanced Fuel Solutions Inc. For more information on fuel quality, additives, and premium treatment solutions, contact him at 978-880-5338 or paulsr@yourfuelsolution.com.

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