Episode 037 - Fuel Acidity

Today, we’re going to continue our discussion about the properties of your stored fuel, including why those properties matter, what problems could arise if any of those properties fall out of line, and what (if anything) you can do about it. When it comes to the health of your diesel fuel, acidity can be a great thing to test for, so in this episode, I’ll be sharing some key misconceptions about fuel acidity, how to test for it properly, what to do when you find higher acidity levels, and more.Listen in as I share what healthy pH levels tend to be, as well as some other ways that may be effective at measuring acidity. You will learn about common problems that happen with fuel and their relationship with acidity, what fuel acidity levels can tell us, and what all those acid number tests really mean.

Listen to the Full Episode:

What You'll Learn: 

• What fuel acidity levels can tell us.
• The relationship between microbes and acidity.
• Where corrosion happens and what it actually has to do with acidity.
• The best ways to measure acidity in your fuel.
• Why pH may not be the best way to measure acidity in fuel.
• Common options for gauging pH and the problems with them.
• Alternatives to checking pH and how they work.
• How to interpret acid number tests. 

   

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “The acidity of stored fuel can increase over time due to many factors. One big one is microbes.” - Erik Bjornstad
• “Let’s not unduly overlook that biomass that we might find in the tank. Corrosion is strongly associated with the presence of microbial biofilms.” - Erik Bjornstad
• “Most people think that pH is the go-to indicator of acidity, but we have to start considering that it isn’t really that true. It’s actually further from the case than you may think.” - Erik Bjornstad
• “Monitoring fuel acidity is an important thing, so you should do an acid test on your fuel at least once per year. You don’t need to do it monthly or quarterly.” - Erik Bjornstad
• "Acidity is much more of an indicator of if you can expect future problems to develop.” - Erik Bjornstad

Resources:

• Erik Bjornstad: LinkedIn