Episode 040 - Microbe Myths

This week’s episode is the third in the series of shows where I focus on the half-truths, myths, and misconceptions in the fuel world regarding microbes. In past episodes, I talked about the relationship between water and microbes, as well as how cold weather can affect microbes and how you deal with them. This time, you will hear about a myth that can easily suck people in: filtering microbes.

There’s a prevalence of microbe issues in today’s stored fuel, and there’s a lot of incorrect information on how to deal with that. Listen in as I share key insight into this situation and explain what fuel polishing is in order to help you make better decisions when it comes to maintaining your fuel. You will learn about the importance of filter ratings, biofilm elimination, and the only thing that actually gets rid of microbes.

Listen to the Full Episode:

What You'll Learn: 

• How changes in fuel composition increase microbe issues.
• The three-pronged approach to keeping stored fuel safe.
• What fuel polishing is and how it is different from other approaches.
• How fuel polishing claims often lead people astray.
• Why fuel polishing cannot clear up microbe issues.
• What filter ratings actually mean.
• What biofilm is and how it often doesn’t get completely filtered out.
• The only thing that will truly knock out microbe contamination.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “The single element that is most important in the process is that you need to kill the microbes. Biocide treatments are the only thing that will do that.” - Erik Bjornstad
• “Because microbial contamination is so common these days, there’s no shortage in the amount of people selling solutions to fix the problem that this entails.” - Erik Bjornstad
• “Today’s fuels require better care than they used to.” - Erik Bjornstad
• “If they entered into the job with no intention of using a biocide, it unfortunately turns your situation into money down the drain for you.” - Erik Bjornstad
• "Microbes are smaller than you think and filtration ratings don’t mean what you might think." - Erik Bjornstad 
• "In order to adequately resolve a microbe contamination, you have to get the biofilms out." - Erik Bjornstad

Resources:

• Erik Bjornstad: LinkedIn