What Makes A Great Fuel System Cleaner?
Additive industry and fuel system cleaners are often perceived as products that provide little to nothing additional benefits. It often seems that people talking about additives have little understanding of fuel and fuel additives. Read time 5 min.
BG Products Inc. R&D Lab
Fuel Additive Industry
Formulations of all modern fuels have additives in them. They are used to enhance desirable properties or to suppress undesirable properties. Many users of fuel additives in the automotive and transportation industries rely on clever marketing rather than science to validate their use. However, the multi-billion dollar fuel additives industry amongst refineries, pipelines, and fuel distributors cannot solely rely on marketing alone. Regulation of fuel additives is protected by national fuel standards, but often only up to the retail fuel dispenser. Any additional insight and control in the aftermarket are often non-existent. This article will highlight a few typical chemicals found in fuels and fuel additives. Focusing on a few of the most complex and key components of all fuel additives.
To understand the fuel additives industry, and the products available, one needs to understand the difference between a brand and a manufacturer. There aren’t too many true chemical manufacturers, but thousands of brands are available on the market. To somehow make sense, if any product may provide benefits, look for industry approvals and operations certifications. The most reputable companies will often refer to industry standardised tests such as ASTM D5500 (a common scientific test used to evaluate intake valve deposits on petrol fuels). They also often carry improved manufacturing and scientific credentials used by The International Organisation for Standardisation or (ISO).
Typical additives used in fuels:
Antioxidants
Octane/cetane improvers
Cold flow improvers
Metal deactivators
Dyes
Corrosion inhibitors
Deposit control additives
Lubricity additives
Friction modifiers
Demulsifiers
Deposit Control Additives Control And Clean Fuel Deposits
This article will focus on one of the most important fuel system cleaners, the deposit control additives. These chemicals first came to market in the late seventies and early eighties. Several automotive manufacturers developed standardised tests around common fuel system technologies. Specifically, they desired to compare the effectiveness of chemicals to clean and keep clean these automotive fuel systems. ASTM D 5500 is one of these tests that BMW developed to measure the need to keep intake valves clean, by using fuel chemistry. Today, there are many other modernised tests for their associated fuel system technologies. As these systems become more intricate, the need for more robust chemistry with today’s more sophisticated engine’s is far more demanding.
DCA’S are often referred to in the generic term as “detergents”. However, their function is different from that of conventional cleaning detergents used for washing and cleaning purposes. DCA’s are able to inhibit deposit creation by forming protective films on fuel components. This in turn prevents deposit precursors (varnish and other byproducts) from accumulating to form deposits. These “detergents” also have the ability to clean existing deposits by preferentially binding and removing them. With a proper amount of DCA, it is possible to clean not only components upstream of combustion but also combustion chamber deposits. This family of chemicals in high enough quantity has been found to survive combustion and clean downstream components such as sensors and catalysts. DCA’s are designed to operate in conditions found inside of an engine and were discovered long ago. Using basic traditional cleaning chemistry such as alcohol or solvent to clean modern engine deposits provides little to no additional cleaning benefits. DCA are one of the most expensive compounds found in a fuel system cleaner.
Before comparing the prices of a fuel system cleaner try to find the actual manufacturer of the cleaner. Google earth is good to start, chemical manufacturing plants look quite different from a warehouse.
GDI injector deposits before
GDI Injector after BG 44K® Platinum®
ASTM International and BG 44K® Platinum®
“Legitimate companies should be able to prove their fuel system cleaner do what they say they do. And they can do that with professional tests from ASTM.
ASTM International is an organisation that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services.
Fuel additive tests include ASTM D5500, a BMW 318i Intake Valve Deposit (IVD) test, and ASTM D6201, a Ford 2.3L IVD test. Both tests determine whether the fuel system cleaner you are using will actually clean anything. Proof!
Thankfully, there are some fuel system cleaners available that have passed tests like these. And it just so happens that BG 44K® Platinum® ranks at the top of a very small group of elite products to do this!
BG 44K® Platinum® has not only passed the two professional standards above, it has also been tested in a San Diego Yellow Cab fleet, where engines were dismantled and examined to see if BG 44K® Platinum® actually kept the engines clean. It did.
That’s why BG 44K® Platinum®, with its patent-protected cleaning technology, is unmatched in the fuel additive market. BG 44K® Platinum® is thoroughly tested and has passed tests on cleaning catalytic converters, fuel filters, oxygen sensors, and fuel pumps.”
(Original text: Michael Belluomo, BG Products, inc.)
BG Products Inc.
BG Products, Inc., the leading manufacturer and supplier of automotive fuel and oil conditioners, specialty chemicals, greases, tools and equipment, is ISO 9001, 14001, 17025 and 45001 certified.
As an ISO Certified company BG Products, Inc. is obligated to provide transparent and factual information. All products are tested and proven to provide added benefits to equipment owners.
Our primary focus is to prevent oil and fuel-based deposit formation. In passenger vehicles, we call that service BG Performance Service.
If you want to learn more about our products and services you can contact us here.