Preliminary Studies of New Water Removal Element in Purification Applications of Diesel Fuels

To effectively and efficiently remove water contamination dispersed in petrodiesel fuels, a new water removal element with both coalescence and separation features is studied in this paper. The unique droplet coalescence and separation mechanism occurring in the new water removal element is proposed. The conceptual design of this filter element is presented and the basic features of FCP filtration systems are briefly introduced. A laboratory test stand and fuel analysis procedure are described. The results from preliminary water removal tests with number 2 petrodiesel fuel demonstrate the filtration performance of the new water removal element. For example, within one single fuel flow pass through FCP filtration system equipped with the new water removal element and running at 2 GPM flow rate, the water content in 80°F, number 2 petrodiesel fuel stream can be reduced from up to 40,000 ppm upstream to 64.8 ppm or less downstream.