Air Force Fuel Water Separation

Several years ago the US Military asked ACT to engineer a unique working pilot system to assist the environmental office of an air base with the costly disposal of water contaminated JP-8. The large storage facility on base was collecting an average of (15) 55-gallon drum of material per month, and the water content was forcing the base to pay to dispose of the material. it was reasoned that if the small quantity of water (1-2%/volume) could be extracted in an efficient manner, the fuel could then be sold for its BTU content and become a NET gain vs.a continuous NET loss every month.

As with many ACT systems, the solution is unique. Using Bernouli's Principle, to exploit the differences in the specific gravity of the fuel and the condensate in the collected material, the separation is far more efficient than tradtional belt, disc, or coalescing skimmers. Bernouli's Principle is the same proven fact of nature that allows for a flow of air to pass over and under a wing's surface and to create a pressure differential. Typically, high pressure is pressure beneath the wing while low pressure is above, creating the lift that allows aircraft to fly. With inverted wings, our system is designed to perform with liquid flows of separating materials such as oil and water. In lab trials with water contaminated fuels, successful separation of 98% fuel, 2% water was realized. Additionally, as the water is collected and treated by the same inverted wing design, the water itself is shed of its gross fuel contamination. With the addition of a simple hydrocarbon absorber, even this water can be cleaned to POTW acceptable levels and no cost disposal.

System #1 was built and delivered and monitored over the course of several years of field use. Customer reaction to the system performance was overwhelmingly positive with initial return on investment projections shown to be just a matter of months! Recently, this technology was further engineered by ACT to provide for fuel filtration to DOT standards and the potential for re-use of the fuel in transportation powerplants. As the cost of oil rises and demands fluctuate, ACT's Fuel Sep Super Skid System will prove to be an ideal package for maximizing the use of earths' resources while significantly reducing wastes and the cost associated with disposal.

Contact an ACT engineer to discuss your particular application and learn how ACT Fuel Separation Technologies can benefit your organization.