Special Transport & Railway
A Southwest Railway Bureau Group
Railway Fuel Multi-Stage Purification
Key outcomes
- Ultra-high flow fueling: 50m³/h high-throughput fueling efficiency, enabling rapid preparation
- Full-line system protection: 11 sets of equipment cover core locomotive depots, systematically preventing risks
- High-altitude adaptability: designed for stable operation in high-altitude, mountainous climates
Case Study
Stage 1 · Customer Problem
A Southwest Railway Bureau Group Co., Ltd. is responsible for railway transport within and around the province. As a radiation center facing South Asia and Southeast Asia, its diesel locomotives play a key role in cross-national transport and heavy-haul transport in mountainous areas. The Railway Bureau faces challenges of diversified flow rate demands and complex environments in fuel management.
⏱️
Fueling Efficiency Bottleneck
On busy route segments, locomotive station turnaround time is short and traditional filtration has insufficient flow; forcing higher flow reduces precision, making 50 m³/h rapid fueling hard to achieve.
⛰️
High Altitude & Humid Conditions
The climate is complex, with rainy, humid mountainous conditions affecting fuel stability, while the high-altitude environment imposes higher requirements on pumping and sealing performance.
🛡️
Locomotive Power Safety
Diesel locomotives demand high fuel cleanliness when climbing heavy-haul grades; fine impurities causing power loss may trigger safety hazards.
🗺️
Dispersed Maintenance System
Due to scattered station locations, there is an urgent need for a highly reliable, easy-to-maintain standardized equipment system to reduce cross-regional maintenance costs.
Stage 2 · Fuel Analysis · NEW
Sampling across hub and distributed stations showed mountain dust ingress, condensation from humid high-altitude storage, and soot carryover typical of long-haul mountain railway diesel. The analysis below summarizes the baseline before treatment versus the post-treatment target achieved by the staged multi-level purification system.
| Indicator | Before Treatment | After Treatment | Target / Standard |
|---|
| ISO 4406 Cleanliness | ~21/19/16 | 14/12/9 | ISO 4406 ≤ 16/14/11 |
| Free Water (ppm) | ~300 | < 80 | < 200 |
| Visual Appearance | Slightly hazy, suspended fines | Clear & bright | Clear & transparent |
| TAN (mg KOH/g) | ~0.40 | 0.08 | ≤ 0.5 |
| Particle Composition | Mountain dust, rust, soot | Isolated inert particles | — |
Sampling at hub and distributed station fueling points before/after the staged purification skid; ISO 4406 per ISO 11500, free water by Karl Fischer.
Stage 3 · Solution
Jingyuan provided the Railway Bureau with a staged configuration customized purification solution. A 50 m³/h custom skid using ultra-large-volume housing and multi-stage parallel technology meets hub station rapid supply, while a 12 m³/h custom unit meets the daily purification needs of distributed stations, ensuring consistent fuel quality across the entire line. The Jingyuan® polymer rigid composite membrane intercepts particulate impurities while synergistically removing trace free water, and an intelligent differential pressure early-warning system indicates cartridge status during high-intensity operations.
Distributed Unit
12 m³/h custom
Filter Media
Polymer rigid composite membrane
Regeneration
Gas-pulse regeneration (brief 5-15 min safety pause)
Housing
Ultra-large-volume, multi-stage parallel
Control
Intelligent DP early-warning
Environment
High-altitude reinforced, anti-corrosion
Stage 4 · Results
The comprehensive deployment of 11 systems built a solid fuel safety barrier for the Railway Bureau. In particular, the application of the 50 m³/h equipment effectively shortened single locomotive fueling time, improving the depot's turnaround efficiency. Depot data statistics show that after installing Jingyuan equipment, the average service life of diesel locomotive injectors was effectively extended, and the locomotive failure rate caused by fuel contamination decreased noticeably.
| Metric | Before | After | Improvement |
|---|
| ISO 4406 Cleanliness | ~21/19/16 | 14/12/9 | ~3 codes / scale |
| Free Water (ppm) | ~300 | < 80 | ~73% reduction |
| Single Locomotive Fueling Time | Extended by low flow | Shortened (50 m³/h) | Hub turnaround improved |
| Injector Average Service Life | Limited by contamination | Effectively extended | Lower replacement cost |
| Fuel-Contamination Locomotive Failures | Frequent | Noticeably decreased | Line-wide safety barrier |
Stage 5 · Lessons Learned · NEW
Key takeaways from the Southwest Railway Bureau Group deployment that are transferable to other high-altitude, multi-station mountain railway fuel operations.
✅
Differentiated Flow Strategy
A 50 m³/h hub skid combined with 12 m³/h distributed units ensures consistent fuel quality across scattered stations while matching each site's throughput demand — ideal for dispersed railway networks.
⚠️
High-Altitude & Humid Engineering
For mountain railway environments, optimized electrical systems and anti-corrosion coatings are essential to maintain pumping and sealing performance under humid, high-altitude conditions over the long term.
🔄
Intelligent DP Control + Gas-Pulse Regen
Intelligent differential-pressure early warning gives proactive cartridge-status visibility, while gas-pulse group-switching regeneration (~32–64s/group) keeps high-intensity fueling uninterrupted across all 11 stations.
"
Customer feedback
In the complex geographical environment of the Southwest, fuel cleanliness is critical to railway safety. Jingyuan's solution, especially the 50m³/h high-flow units, effectively met our dual demands for speed and quality. After deployment at 11 stations, the incidence of engine-related issues decreased noticeably. This is a key upgrade for our locomotive fleet.
Special Transport & Railway
Get a technical solution