Refinery & Oil Depot
A Guangdong Gas Station
Logistics Hub Fuel Quality Control
Key outcomes
- Resolving Fuel Appearance Issues: Effectively addresses diesel cloudiness under high-humidity conditions, ensuring clear and transparent fuel
- Extended Fueling Machine Cartridge Life: Effectively extends the replacement cycle of the fueling machine's built-in precision filter cartridges
- Efficient Unloading Capability: 40m³/h high-flow design, ensuring tanker truck unloading speed is not affected
Case Study
Stage 1 · Customer Problem
📋 Customer Problem
A Guangdong gas station operating in a high-humidity coastal environment faced recurring fuel quality issues that directly impacted customer satisfaction and station reputation:
💧
High-Humidity Condensation
Guangdong's coastal climate causes storage tank condensation, introducing free water into diesel. Water content frequently exceeded 150 ppm.
🌫️
Cloudy Fuel Appearance
Water haze and particulate contamination made dispensed fuel visually cloudy, leading to customer complaints about fuel quality.
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Frequent Cartridge Replacement
Traditional filter cartridges clogged rapidly under high-contamination conditions, requiring replacement every 1-2 weeks.
📉
Customer Trust Erosion
Repeated quality complaints damaged the station's reputation, with some customers switching to competing stations.
Stage 2 · Fuel Analysis · NEW
🔬 Fuel Analysis
Fuel sampling from the storage tank revealed contamination driven by coastal high-humidity condensation and atmospheric particulate ingress:
| Metric | Before Treatment | After Treatment | Improvement |
|---|
| ISO 4406 Cleanliness | ~19/17/14 | 14/12/10 | 3 levels ↑ |
| Free Water (ppm) | ~150 | ≤50 | 67% ↓ |
| Visual Appearance | Cloudy with water haze | Clear, transparent | — |
| TAN (mgKOH/g) | 0.14 | 0.07 | 50% ↓ |
| Particle Composition | Rust, condensation water, atmospheric dust | ≥98% removed at ≥5 μm | 98% ↓ |
Values are representative based on Guangdong coastal conditions (high humidity, temperature cycling, atmospheric particulate ingress). Post-treatment testing confirmed ISO 14/12/10 compliance and visual clarity restoration.
Stage 3 · Solution
🛠️ Solution & System Configuration
Jingyuan provided a fuel polishing and purification solution using the polymer rigid composite membrane platform, selected for its synergistic particulate interception and water removal capabilities:
Membrane
Polymer Rigid Composite, 5 μm nominal
β Value
≥200 at rated pore size
Water Removal
Oleophilic-hydrophobic synergistic separation
Regeneration
Gas-pulse regeneration (brief 5-15 min safety pause)
Operating Mode
Kidney-loop polishing + dispensing filtration
Monitoring
Differential pressure monitoring, water detection
Key design decisions: The oleophilic-hydrophobic membrane material efficiently intercepts particulate impurities while synergistically removing free water — addressing both contamination vectors simultaneously. The gas-pulse sequential regeneration eliminates cartridge replacement entirely, critical for a retail station where maintenance windows are limited.
Stage 4 · Results
📈 Quantified Results
14/12/10
ISO Cleanliness Achieved
67%
Water Content Reduction
| Metric | Before | After | Improvement |
|---|
| ISO 4406 Cleanliness | ~19/17/14 | 14/12/10 | 3 levels ↑ |
| Free Water (ppm) | ~150 | ≤50 | 67% ↓ |
| Fuel Appearance | Cloudy with water haze | Clear and transparent | — |
| Filter Cartridge Replacement | Every 1-2 weeks | 0 (3-year membrane life) | 100% eliminated |
| Customer Complaints | Frequent quality reports | Zero complaints | 100% eliminated |
The system restored fuel clarity to "visually transparent" standards, eliminating all quality-related customer complaints. The station regained customer trust and recovered lost business. The zero-consumable design proved particularly valuable for a retail station with limited maintenance staff.
Stage 5 · Lessons Learned · NEW
💡 Lessons Learned
✅
Key Success Factor
The dual-action membrane design (particulate interception + synergistic water removal) was the critical factor. In high-humidity coastal environments, water contamination is as damaging as particulate contamination — addressing only one vector leaves the other unchecked.
⚠️
Common Pitfall
Coastal gas stations often treat fuel cloudiness as an aesthetic issue, not a contamination indicator. They rely on reactive cartridge replacement when customer complaints arise, incurring high maintenance costs and reputation damage. Proactive membrane polishing with continuous water removal eliminates the root cause.
🔄
Replication Advice
Directly applicable to all coastal-region gas stations in South China (Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan) and Southeast Asian markets with similar high-humidity conditions. The kidney-loop polishing mode can be adapted for underground storage tanks of any capacity. For stations with biodiesel (B5-B20), the same membrane platform handles both water and biodiesel-related contaminants.
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Customer feedback
In Guangdong's humid coastal climate, keeping diesel clear is a challenge. Jingyuan's 40m³/h system transformed our business. Our fuel appears cleaner than competitors, and fueling machine maintenance has been significantly reduced. This is the reliable quality assurance we purchased for our station.
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