October 30, 2024 • 9 mins
This episode continues the Back to School series, focusing on identifying and treating microbial contamination in fuel systems. Erik Bjornstad discusses both indirect and direct methods for detecting contamination, emphasizing the importance of proper testing and treatment.
The episode provides practical guidance on addressing contamination through water removal and biocide application, while also educating listeners about legitimate biocide products versus questionable alternatives.
What You'll Learn:
- How to identify signs of microbial contamination in fuel systems
- The difference between direct and indirect testing methods
- Why removing water alone isn't sufficient to solve contamination
- How to properly treat microbial contamination
- How to identify legitimate biocide products
- The importance of EPA registration for biocides
- Best practices for applying biocide treatments
Ideas Worth Sharing:
Here are three notable quotes from the podcast episode:
- "Biocides are chemicals that kill living microbial organisms, but they can't kill what they can't get to."
- "Microbes are very adaptive. They don't need very much water to grow."
- "Step one is, remove as much of the free water as you can. Yes. But you can't stop there."
Resources:
- EPA Registration Numbers (referenced as verification tool)
- Erik Bjornstad: LinkedIn
Show Notes:
[00:00:00] - Introduction and recap of previous episode
[00:01:00] - Indirect signs of microbial contamination
[00:02:00] - Additional contamination indicators
[00:03:00] - Direct testing methods
[00:04:00] - Solutions: What not to do
[00:05:00] - Proper contamination treatment
[00:06:00] - Discussion of biocides
[00:07:00] - How to identify genuine biocides
[00:08:00] - EPA registration requirements
[00:09:00] - Episode summary and closing
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Fuel Pulse showpodcast, where we talk about all
(00:04):
things fuel for all kinds of people.
I'm your host Eric Bierenstedt,and I'll be your guide through
the ever changing world of fuel.
Today, we're continuing our FuelPulse show back to school episodes,
where we go back and we dig into thebasic building blocks of fuel care.
Now, in our last episode, welaid the groundwork for talking
(00:26):
about microbial problems in fuel.
Touching on why fields todaydevelop these problems so easily
and what kind of problems go alongwith microbial contamination.
And we left off by asking,how do you know if you have a
microbial contamination problem?
(00:46):
And we said that there wereboth indirect and indirect.
and direct clues as to that answer.
So, indirect signs you mighthave a microbial problem.
First, filter plugginghappens faster than normal.
Most businesses, most entities thathave stored fuel, they know about how
often they have to change fuel filters.
(01:09):
And if that interval shrinks,That can be a sign that there's
microbial contamination in there.
And then speaking of filter plugging,if you take one of those filters and
you crack it open, what you mightfind, maybe it's dark, maybe it's
slimy or gel like, Both of thosethings are typical of microbial
(01:30):
biomass getting trapped in that filter.
The filter medium itselfalso might be discolored.
It might be black, it might bebrown, it might even be green.
That's a sign that not only doyou have a microbial contamination
problem in the tank, that's a signthat microbes have actually started
growing colonies inside that filter.
(01:52):
And then, The fuel itself, if you takea sample, you examine it, and the fuel
doesn't seem like it's normal condition.
And by that, specifically, if itsmells different, if it smells
sour, if it smells rotten.
That's an indicator, all of these areindicators, of metabolic processes
(02:13):
of certain kinds of microbes.
Then, we also hinted in the lastepisode that if you find a free water
phase in your storage tank, thatdoesn't in itself prove that you have
microbial contamination, but havinga water phase in there is a sign that
one of the critical building blocksfor contamination is in your tank.
(02:35):
And then if you pull a fuel watersample, And you look in that sample
and you see that you have water at thebottom, you have fuel on top, but then
what you also see is this telltalestringy solid stuff or semi solid stuff
that's kind of floating in between.
They refer to that as a rag layerand that the presence of a rag layer
(02:59):
is a telltale sign of microbialcontamination because that's essentially
microbial biomass that you're seeing.
So those are some indirecthints that you might have
microbial contamination in there.
The direct way to know is throughhaving some kind of microbial test done.
Now if the test is done right,it's going to tell you if you
(03:21):
have Microbial contamination ornot, which is a step better than
having to make inferences based onwhat you're seeing in other areas.
Okay, now there are some tests.
Where you take a sample andyou send it off to a lab, and
the lab does the test for you.
There are also some tests that arefast enough and easy enough that
(03:44):
you can actually do them yourselfin the field wherever you are.
Now, we could spend, more time than wehave here, explaining the pros and cons
of the different, testing technologies.
We're not gonna do that for now, we'rejust gonna leave it at saying that
microbial testing is the one directway You can confirm if you've got
(04:05):
a microbial contamination problem.
Okay, so we've talked about what problemsthe microbes cause and we've all talked
about how to confirm the problem.
The last thing may be themost important thing of all.
How do you get rid of them?
First, let's talk about what you don't do.
We've already established microbesneed free water to grow, but saying
(04:30):
that isn't saying that where there'sno free water or if you remove the free
water, the microbes are going to die.
That's not really what we're saying whenwe say microbes need free water to grow.
It's also definitely not true.
That just removing the water phasewill cause any existing microbes
(04:50):
in there to die off and go away.
See, microbes are very adaptive.
They don't need very much water to grow.
And for, let's say, taking a typicaltechnician who's removing a water phase
out of a tank, trying to remediatethis problem, most of the time they'll
remove the free water and they'llbe pretty sure that they got it all.
(05:11):
But there's almost always At leasta little bit of water left in there
somewhere, and that little bit is allthat the microbes need to start back over.
So, step one is, remove as muchof the free water as you can.
Yes.
But you can't stop there.
You have to do the second part aswell, which is, You have to apply a
(05:34):
chemical biocide to kill the microbes.
That's actually the mostimportant part of the process.
You apply the biocide and then youwant to circulate it to make sure that
it gets to as many of the differentparts of the system as possible.
Biosides are chemicals that killliving microbial organisms, but they
(05:57):
can't kill what they can't get to.
So you have to circulate it inthere, make sure that it's well
mixed, and then let it do its thing.
Last thing to remember about biocides.
Biosides are considered to be a classof registered chemical treatments
that are legally approved to go inplaces like fuel and kill microbes.
(06:18):
Now, because microbes in fuel tanks and infuel storage systems are becoming such a
widespread problem across the land, right?
There are a lot of products outthere that imply that they act like
biocides, but they really don't.
Now, they might imply when you readtheir product claims may imply that
(06:40):
for example, they control water.
So therefore they reducemicrobial growth, right?
Or they may even flat out say that theykill microbes when they really don't.
Now, there is actuallylaw that governs this area.
And by the letter of the law, it isactually illegal to make those kinds of
what they call biocidal claims if thething in question isn't really a biocide.
(07:06):
Which leads us to the question, how do youknow if something actually is a biocide?
Well, there is an easy way totell, regardless of whether
they claim to be one or not.
The easiest way to tell is, if you havea product, a bottle of that product, Look
on the front or the back product label.
(07:26):
And what you're doing isyou're looking for two numbers.
You're looking for theEPA registration numbers.
There's two of them.
And they shouldn't be too hard to findbecause anything, any product that's
legally approved to be sold as a buyerside has two things governing it.
Number one, it's required tobe registered with the EPA.
(07:47):
That's to make sure that it's Safeto handle for humans, and it's
safe to go out in the environment.
That's number one.
But the second thing is they're requiredto put the two registration numbers that
they get as a result of being registered.
They're required to actually putthose on the label, and they have
to put it in a place that's Youknow, relatively easy to find.
(08:08):
They can't put it in, two point font thatyou need a magnifying glass for, because
people need to find it to referenceit, and so they're legally required to
do that, and so that's really the key.
If you're considering using somethingto solve your microbial contamination
problem, check the label to makesure it has the registration numbers.
That's the minimum thing thatwill absolutely tell you for sure.
(08:33):
if what you've got isactually a biocide or not.
So, quick review.
Microbes are a realproblem in fuel systems.
I think we all agree on that.
And microbes cause real problems likedegrading the fuel, plugging the filters,
damaging storage tanks and systemcomponents, and they also spread easily
to other areas, which is also a problem.
(08:55):
Now, you can pay attention tosigns like having free water in the
system or seeing filter plugging.
But the key way to know for sure ifyou have a microbe problem is have a
microbial test done on a fuel sample.
And if it's confirmed that you have one,you really wanted to do two main things.
You want to get rid of as much ofthe free water as possible and you
(09:17):
want to treat the fuel system with achemical biocide to kill the microbes.
And so that's going to do it fortoday's episode of the Fuel Pulse
show back to school and our quick diveinto the issue of microbes in fuel.
If you like what you heard and youhaven't done so already, feel free to
subscribe at your podcast platform ofchoice, whether it's iTunes, Stitcher,
(09:41):
Amazon podcast, Google podcast,wherever you like to listen and leave
us a review if you can because thatreally does help other people find us.
So until next time, I'm Eric Bjornstad.
Thank you for joining us.
We'll see you next time atthe Field Poll Show podcast.
Welcome to the Fuel Pulse showpodcast, where we talk about all
(00:04):
things fuel for all kinds of people.
I'm your host Eric Bierenstedt,and I'll be your guide through
the ever changing world of fuel.
Today, we're continuing our FuelPulse show back to school episodes,
where we go back and we dig into thebasic building blocks of fuel care.
Now, in our last episode, welaid the groundwork for talking
(00:26):
about microbial problems in fuel.
Touching on why fields todaydevelop these problems so easily
and what kind of problems go alongwith microbial contamination.
And we left off by asking,how do you know if you have a
microbial contamination problem?
(00:46):
And we said that there wereboth indirect and indirect.
and direct clues as to that answer.
So, indirect signs you mighthave a microbial problem.
First, filter plugginghappens faster than normal.
Most businesses, most entities thathave stored fuel, they know about how
often they have to change fuel filters.
(01:09):
And if that interval shrinks,That can be a sign that there's
microbial contamination in there.
And then speaking of filter plugging,if you take one of those filters and
you crack it open, what you mightfind, maybe it's dark, maybe it's
slimy or gel like, Both of thosethings are typical of microbial
(01:30):
biomass getting trapped in that filter.
The filter medium itselfalso might be discolored.
It might be black, it might bebrown, it might even be green.
That's a sign that not only doyou have a microbial contamination
problem in the tank, that's a signthat microbes have actually started
growing colonies inside that filter.
(01:52):
And then, The fuel itself, if you takea sample, you examine it, and the fuel
doesn't seem like it's normal condition.
And by that, specifically, if itsmells different, if it smells
sour, if it smells rotten.
That's an indicator, all of these areindicators, of metabolic processes
(02:13):
of certain kinds of microbes.
Then, we also hinted in the lastepisode that if you find a free water
phase in your storage tank, thatdoesn't in itself prove that you have
microbial contamination, but havinga water phase in there is a sign that
one of the critical building blocksfor contamination is in your tank.
(02:35):
And then if you pull a fuel watersample, And you look in that sample
and you see that you have water at thebottom, you have fuel on top, but then
what you also see is this telltalestringy solid stuff or semi solid stuff
that's kind of floating in between.
They refer to that as a rag layerand that the presence of a rag layer
(02:59):
is a telltale sign of microbialcontamination because that's essentially
microbial biomass that you're seeing.
So those are some indirecthints that you might have
microbial contamination in there.
The direct way to know is throughhaving some kind of microbial test done.
Now if the test is done right,it's going to tell you if you
(03:21):
have Microbial contamination ornot, which is a step better than
having to make inferences based onwhat you're seeing in other areas.
Okay, now there are some tests.
Where you take a sample andyou send it off to a lab, and
the lab does the test for you.
There are also some tests that arefast enough and easy enough that
(03:44):
you can actually do them yourselfin the field wherever you are.
Now, we could spend, more time than wehave here, explaining the pros and cons
of the different, testing technologies.
We're not gonna do that for now, we'rejust gonna leave it at saying that
microbial testing is the one directway You can confirm if you've got
(04:05):
a microbial contamination problem.
Okay, so we've talked about what problemsthe microbes cause and we've all talked
about how to confirm the problem.
The last thing may be themost important thing of all.
How do you get rid of them?
First, let's talk about what you don't do.
We've already established microbesneed free water to grow, but saying
(04:30):
that isn't saying that where there'sno free water or if you remove the free
water, the microbes are going to die.
That's not really what we're saying whenwe say microbes need free water to grow.
It's also definitely not true.
That just removing the water phasewill cause any existing microbes
(04:50):
in there to die off and go away.
See, microbes are very adaptive.
They don't need very much water to grow.
And for, let's say, taking a typicaltechnician who's removing a water phase
out of a tank, trying to remediatethis problem, most of the time they'll
remove the free water and they'llbe pretty sure that they got it all.
(05:11):
But there's almost always At leasta little bit of water left in there
somewhere, and that little bit is allthat the microbes need to start back over.
So, step one is, remove as muchof the free water as you can.
Yes.
But you can't stop there.
You have to do the second part aswell, which is, You have to apply a
(05:34):
chemical biocide to kill the microbes.
That's actually the mostimportant part of the process.
You apply the biocide and then youwant to circulate it to make sure that
it gets to as many of the differentparts of the system as possible.
Biosides are chemicals that killliving microbial organisms, but they
(05:57):
can't kill what they can't get to.
So you have to circulate it inthere, make sure that it's well
mixed, and then let it do its thing.
Last thing to remember about biocides.
Biosides are considered to be a classof registered chemical treatments
that are legally approved to go inplaces like fuel and kill microbes.
(06:18):
Now, because microbes in fuel tanks and infuel storage systems are becoming such a
widespread problem across the land, right?
There are a lot of products outthere that imply that they act like
biocides, but they really don't.
Now, they might imply when you readtheir product claims may imply that
(06:40):
for example, they control water.
So therefore they reducemicrobial growth, right?
Or they may even flat out say that theykill microbes when they really don't.
Now, there is actuallylaw that governs this area.
And by the letter of the law, it isactually illegal to make those kinds of
what they call biocidal claims if thething in question isn't really a biocide.
(07:06):
Which leads us to the question, how do youknow if something actually is a biocide?
Well, there is an easy way totell, regardless of whether
they claim to be one or not.
The easiest way to tell is, if you havea product, a bottle of that product, Look
on the front or the back product label.
(07:26):
And what you're doing isyou're looking for two numbers.
You're looking for theEPA registration numbers.
There's two of them.
And they shouldn't be too hard to findbecause anything, any product that's
legally approved to be sold as a buyerside has two things governing it.
Number one, it's required tobe registered with the EPA.
(07:47):
That's to make sure that it's Safeto handle for humans, and it's
safe to go out in the environment.
That's number one.
But the second thing is they're requiredto put the two registration numbers that
they get as a result of being registered.
They're required to actually putthose on the label, and they have
to put it in a place that's Youknow, relatively easy to find.
(08:08):
They can't put it in, two point font thatyou need a magnifying glass for, because
people need to find it to referenceit, and so they're legally required to
do that, and so that's really the key.
If you're considering using somethingto solve your microbial contamination
problem, check the label to makesure it has the registration numbers.
That's the minimum thing thatwill absolutely tell you for sure.
(08:33):
if what you've got isactually a biocide or not.
So, quick review.
Microbes are a realproblem in fuel systems.
I think we all agree on that.
And microbes cause real problems likedegrading the fuel, plugging the filters,
damaging storage tanks and systemcomponents, and they also spread easily
to other areas, which is also a problem.
(08:55):
Now, you can pay attention tosigns like having free water in the
system or seeing filter plugging.
But the key way to know for sure ifyou have a microbe problem is have a
microbial test done on a fuel sample.
And if it's confirmed that you have one,you really wanted to do two main things.
You want to get rid of as much ofthe free water as possible and you
(09:17):
want to treat the fuel system with achemical biocide to kill the microbes.
And so that's going to do it fortoday's episode of the Fuel Pulse
show back to school and our quick diveinto the issue of microbes in fuel.
If you like what you heard and youhaven't done so already, feel free to
subscribe at your podcast platform ofchoice, whether it's iTunes, Stitcher,
(09:41):
Amazon podcast, Google podcast,wherever you like to listen and leave
us a review if you can because thatreally does help other people find us.
So until next time, I'm Eric Bjornstad.
Thank you for joining us.
We'll see you next time atthe Field Poll Show podcast.
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