Use of diesel with FAME

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The current rather exitable thread regarding red diesel includes references to FAME. In particular the following claim was made by one poster:

"Ordinary White Road diesel which contains biofuels (FAME - Fatty Acid Methyl Esters) are more certainly NOT ALLOWED in marine fuels - so there is no source of safe fuel to the private pleasure craft."

We installed a new Beta engine in 2009 and have always run it on white diesel bought at what I still call petrol stations, i.e. establishments selling fuel for road vehicles. Before fitting the new engine I spoke with Beta and was told that diesel intended for cars was entirely suitable.

The claim quoted above caused me to check the Beta manual. It states that "diesel fuel must conform to EN590 or ASTM D975". I understand that EN590 defines the physical properties that all automotive diesel fuel must meet if it is to be sold in the European Union, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, and allows the blending of up to 7% fatty acid methyl ester biodiesel with 'conventional' diesel.

So the inclusion of FAME in fresh diesel should not adversely affect our engine directly.

However mention has also been made of FAME settling out over winter, potentially causing clogging problems. I'd be interested to read knowledgeable comments on this subject.

Ill informed speculation will be ignored as usual ;)
 
The problems with FAME that are usually mentioned are:

  1. FAME may react badly with seals etc. used in older engines, causing damage to the engine. Not a problem with a modern engine such as yours - but a lot of engines in boats are VERY old. My Volvo 2003 is no more than middle-aged and it is 20+ years old!
  2. FAME promotes the growth of micro-organisms (diesel bug). This is not a problem in application where it fuel is used rapidly, with regular refills, but in a sailing yacht's auxiliary it can be a problem.
 
I thourght that the problem is that Road fuel is now low sulphur and the sulphur is what kills the bug?

I understood the underlying problem of low sulphur was to do with the wetter marine environment and lower consumption than land based engines.

I'm no expert but one of the guys at work is a marine surveyer and he was really was upset / concerned about the recent fuel directive. He is concerned with major ships and his worry was that the suppliers could cease making the higher sulphur version because of it's smaller market.
 
PhillM said:
I thourght that the problem is that Road fuel is now low sulphur and the sulphur is what kills the bug?

I understood the underlying problem of low sulphur was to do with the wetter marine environment and lower consumption than land based engines.

I'm no expert but one of the guys at work is a marine surveyer and he was really was upset / concerned about the recent fuel directive. He is concerned with major ships and his worry was that the suppliers could cease making the higher sulphur version because of it's smaller market.
Click to expand...

A new marine diesel, MGO1000 will come on to the market which is 'high' sulphur, 0% FAME, white and full duty. When marinas decide to switch to this product remains to be seen.
 
PhillM said:
I thourght that the problem is that Road fuel is now low sulphur and the sulphur is what kills the bug?
Click to expand...

Not quite.

The addition of sulphur to fuel aids lubricity.

Biodiesel (containing FAME) is more prone to bacterial contamination than a fuel with a higher sulphur content.

Play safe - use an fuel additive/biocide whenever you fill up your tank on the boat.
 
MoodyNick said:
A new marine diesel, MGO1000 will come on to the market which is 'high' sulphur, 0% FAME, white and full duty. When marinas decide to switch to this product remains to be seen.
Click to expand...

That would seem to do the job. Good protection against the bug and for those of us with older engines.
 
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