World Fuels and Modern Fuel Systems - A Path to Coexistence

All around the world, steps are being taken to improve the quality of our environment. Prominent among these are the definition, implementation, and attainment of increasingly stringent emissions regulations for all types of engines, including off-highway diesels. These rigorous regulations have driven use of technologies like after-treatment, advanced air systems, and advanced fuel systems. Fuel dispensed off-highway is routinely and significantly dirtier than fuel from on-highway outlets. Furthermore, fuels used in developing countries can be up to 30 times dirtier than the average fuels in North America. Poor fuel cleanliness, coupled with the higher pressures and performance demands of modern fuel systems, create life challenges greater than encountered with cleaner fuels. This can result in costly disruption of operations, loss of productivity, and customer dissatisfaction in the off-highway market. This paper outlines and summarizes the mechanisms creating hard particle-induced wear, the durability challenges for high performance fuel systems operating in dirty fuels, and the specification, design, development, and implementation of an enhanced filtration solution to enable modern fuel systems to function and survive with poor fuel cleanliness.