In November, fuel oil distributors across Scotland joined representatives from the National Farmers Union in Scotland, Ringlink Scotland
and UKIFDA at the Petroineos gas oil and diesel workshop to seek answers to issues experienced with the use of FAME
RTFO is not going away – longer term
solutions need to be found
Rolling back the biofuel percentage may
alleviate the issues in the short term, but
distributors clearly acknowledge that the RTFO
isn’t going away. Given the need to make the
sector more sustainable by reducing emissions
and decreasing the reliance on imported fossil
diesel, longer term solutions still need to be
found. Two other areas under consideration to
enable non-problematic use of diesel with a
higher FAME percentage are housekeeping and
additives.
However, feedback from the floor at the
workshop suggested that end users have
attempted to address both but that neither
were seen to be the complete answer to
problems which have continued.
In terms of housekeeping considerations,
there is plenty of guidance available online.
Actioned last year, UKIFDA has been running
a campaign to reinforce its guidelines and
information on the management and storage
of gasoil to ensure all users are aware of the
impact that the addition of FAME has on
mobile equipment. As Guy Pulham pointed out
– “good house-keeping is part of the issue but
it’s not the whole solution.”
Additives – to use or not to use?
The use of additives to alleviate the negative
effects of increased FAME percentages is very
much part of the ongoing collaborative work
in the industry, with early indications looking
extremely favourable. This will be welcomed
by workshop attendees where a plea from the
floor:
‘We’re looking for help. Is there an
additive we can put in? What can you
recommend?’ suggests an understanding
that, as the fuel composition changes, off-road
fuel needs to be viewed in the same way as
on-road fuel with respect to additives which will
almost certainly be a key part of the solution.
Others commented that equipment
manufacturers had originally suggested that
the use of additives other than their own would
invalidate warranties. More recently however,
manufacturers have now confirmed that the
use of biofuels requires additives, with the
choice extended to any suitable ones.
“Subsequent to the meeting at
Grangemouth UKIFDA has continued its
discussions with TSA, UKPIA and IPIA, with
government departments also made aware of
the issues,” UKIFDA CEO, Guy Pulham told Fuel
Oil News.
“UKIFDA has also met with the National
Farmers Union to share information and with
additive suppliers to understand their own
testing results and efforts in finding short term
solutions. We are also committed to supporting
any new initiatives or industry groups that may
be formed to investigate the problem.
“UKIFDA continues to evaluate data
received from members and consumers with
the aim of shortly providing an updated picture
as to how the geography of the issue has
changed.”
Finding the right solutions
When FAME was introduced into road diesel
similar filter blocking issues were experienced
in cold weathers. Led by a DFT/SMMT
filter blocking task force set up in 2013, the
automotive sector and oil industry very quickly
learned how the change was impacting on the
distribution supply chain which led to changes
in vehicle pumping and filtration systems.
The result was that vehicle manufacturers
effectively engineered out the problems so
there are very few issues in Euro VI vehicles. It
seems that this experience and co-operative
approach needs to be replicated in the gasoil
fuel chain and swiftly.
It remains to be seen – but the likely key
to these present gas oil issues may well lie in
greater cooperation throughout the fuel chain,
with end users engaging with both fuel and
additive suppliers to find the right additive
solutions.
Fuel Oil News | January 2020 15