22,000-litre port tank in round-the-clock use: from below the standard to ISO 16/14/11
The diesel in the port's supply tank was worse than the minimum standard while the tank was in use around the clock. With a permanently installed filter unit, cleanliness reached ISO 16/14/11, and it is now maintained continuously after every refill.
ISO 4406 cleanliness code (minimum standard: 18/16/13)
Portico Shipping runs cargo handling at a British port. The port’s mobile equipment is fuelled from a 22,000-litre diesel tank that is in use around the clock and refilled every two weeks. Every refill brings in new particles, and the tank never gets the chance to settle.
An analysis showed cleanliness code ISO 20/19/19, worse than the international minimum standard of 18/16/13. That put injection systems and pumps at risk of failure in the equipment the whole port depends on.
A Delta Xero DX1003T unit with a built-in particle counter was permanently installed on the tank. Laboratory analyses after filtration showed ISO 16/14/11, and the number of particles above 4 µm fell from 9,793 to 544 per ml. The unit keeps filtering after every refill, so cleanliness is maintained even though new diesel is continuously added to the tank.
A separate case from the same port describes diesel filtration directly on a port crane’s fuel tank, with measurements on both particles and exhaust: the case on the port cranes.
The figures before and after
| Measurement | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 4406 cleanliness code (minimum standard: 18/16/13) | 20/19/19 | 16/14/11 |
| Particles above 4 µm per ml | 9,793 | 544 |
| Particles above 6 µm per ml | 4,978 | 152 |
| Particles above 10 µm per ml | 3,180 | 34 |
| Particles above 14 µm per ml | 2,787 | 12 |
| Particles above 21 µm per ml | 2,292 | 5 |
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