WASP found high levels of water and solid particulate contamination including wax, resins, organic material and other debris. The hospital needed to act quickly; the consequences of a blackout would be catastrophic.
The fuel conditioning programme
WASP’s Fuel Conditioning Programme presents the simplest and most economical route to clean, dry, reliable fuel. It includes testing, cleaning, polishing and stabilisation.
Following the portable contamination real-time fuel test, WASP’s fuel service teams restored the hospital’s fuel without disrupting day-to-day operations. Using the latest technology, WASP cleaned 33,000 litres of diesel and did not require man-entry into the tanks. This allows the generators to remain online as no diesel uplift is required.
MULTIPLE TANK LOCATIONS
Kent & Canterbury hospital have a number of fuel tanks in different locations. Some are indoors, some outdoors and some underground. The test results had shown that all 6 of the tanks were showing signs of contamination. This is not uncommon as fuel degradation can occur no matter where it is stored.
Since 2011 diesel has contained 7% biodiesel. This is added to reduce its overall environmental impact. However, biodiesel increases the rate at which fuel becomes contaminated because it contains water when it’s manufactured and it attracts more water while it’s stored.
Water is the enemy of clean fuel because:
it’s a contaminant in its own right
it promotes microbial growth
it accelerates damage to tank surfaces which leads to solids (such as rust) falling into the fuel.
The hospital has also chosen to protect themselves against future fuel contamination by installing WASP’s Diesel Defence Polishers. Using a mix of circulation and filtration, Diesel Defence polishers protect fuel in long-term storage, keeping it within EN590’s clean fuel standards.
“When we saw the results of our fuel tests we were concerned as reliable power is so critical to our hospital. WASP has been excellent in restoring our diesel and providing solutions that will protect our fuel in the future.”
Estates Department – Kent & Canterbury Hospital
ABOUT PUMA POWER PROJECTS
Formally the service division within the Puma Power Plant Group,Puma Power Projects was established in 2003 to provide both a national and international service and parts facility for generators and control systems. Their services cover not only installations manufactured by Puma Manufacturing but nearly all other makes on the market today. For more information please visit www.pumaukservice.com
ABOUT KENT & CANTERBURY HOSPITAL
The Kent and Canterbury Hospital is an acute care hospital providing a range of elective and emergency services including an innovative Emergency Care Centre.
The original part of the main hospital building was constructed in 1937, with later developments undertaken on site in the 1960s. The hospital provides a central base for many specialist services in east Kent such as renal, vascular, interventional radiology, urology, dermatology, neurology and haemophilia services.
Kent and Canterbury Hospital has a postgraduate teaching centre and staff accommodation. For more information please visit: www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/kentandcanterburyhospital.
