Diesel fuel is organic, so it provides an ideal environment for microscopic fungi, yeast and bacteria to feed and grow. There are hundreds of different yeasts, fungi and bacteria around and fuel will absorb them from the air. A combination of any can lead to the microbial infection that is commonly known as ‘diesel bug’. So the bug is a combination of fungi, yeast and bacteria.
They grow quickly. Doubling in size every twenty minutes a single cell weighing just one millionth of a gram can grow into a biomass of 10 kilograms in just 12 hours. It doesn’t take long at all for a thick biomass of diesel bug to become centimetres thick.
Perfect Environment
Your diesel fuel tank provides the perfect environment for diesel-bug to thrive. Your fuel tanks provide water in which it lives and breeds, carbon in the fuel on which it feeds and oxygen and sulphur for respiration together with trace elements for growth.These pesky invaders don’t just clog up your filters and put you at risk from a fuel related breakdown, they can form bio-films on steel surfaces that are corrosive. Look for the tell-tale pits and crevices on your tank and if there’s a smell of rotten-eggs then you know you have a serious problem.
Why Biocides Won't Solve the Problem long term.
So the answer you would think is simple, dose the tank with a biocide, well that might kill the current infestation, but what about when you next fill up? The bugs themselves can hide, lying dormant in the minute crevices of the metal, rubber and polyurethane coatings of fuel tanks and systems. Then as soon as water is introduced again (ie next time you take on fuel) the infestation can take hold once more. So, while dosing with biocide is an option you may find it time consuming and expensive as you have to treat each new intake of fuel separately. We sell biocide (DieselAid B) with engine manufacturer approval.
Prevention is Better than Cure
The best way to ensure your diesel stays bug free is to remove the place diesel bugs like to be – the water. Water is present in all fuel and by removing water from your diesel you remove their home and breeding ground. Without water they have nowhere to live. If you have a drain valve on your tank - then use it regularly. If no drain is present, consider a diesel dewatering system such as our Diesel Dipper
The Cure
Depending on how bad the infestation is it may be that a simple shot of broad spectrum biocide will do the job, initially; however, as diesel bug is becoming more problematic due to low sulphur and more water finding its way into fuel, you might want to consider a system for removing the water from fuel permanently. If you think you have a serious infestation of diesel bug then you need to drain and clean your tank and fuel systems before refuelling. Once again as water is present in all fuel and a biocide cannot remove water you should seriously consider implementing a system to remove the water from your fuel as part of an overall maintenance strategy.
