Smithfield Foods Project
Tar Heel, NC and Smithfield, VA
Started 2004
Project Overview
To take a major trucking company using bulk fuel to determine diesel fleet savings with the utilization of a diesel fuel catalyst and a by-pass oil filter system over a long period of usage.
Summary
Product to use for fuel: The diesel fuel catalyst CleanBoost™ (CB)
CB had extensive testing and ATA approval through the CMT J-1321 test procedure conducted by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas
Product to use for filtration: The two micron oil by-pass filtration system FiltakleenTM (FK) which had numerous lab and field research tests was the filter for our application.
There were trial and error experiences as the company documented over 8% in direct fuel savings using CB and a 1.6% indirect fuel savings using the FK oil by-pass filtration system.
The use of CB and FK resulted in significant reductions in all engine wear metals.
The success of this effort resulted in this author and Gary Bradshaw, Director of Transportation in Tar Heel jointly receiving the Smithfield Corporation Presidential Award for Exemplary Compliance a highly tested independently evaluated and coveted award.
Author’s Credentials
The author has a degree in Microbiology from The Ohio State University, am an ICML Certified Tribologist (lubrication specialist), FAA licensed Airframe and Power plant (A&P) Mechanic, held a FAA Master Repairman’s Certification for avionics, instruments, accessories and specialized services, current Commercial aircraft pilot, actively working 200 ton Master Coast Guard licensed Merchant Marine Captain, owner of the FAA Type Certificate for the Myers 200D and Interceptor 400 series aircraft, aircraft designer and engine re-builder and have owned an aviation Fixed Base Operation (FBO) where I personally managed several fuel farms selling Jet A and Avgas for years. I have rebuilt race motors, diesel engines and basically been around engines and fuels for all my life. The author is uniquely qualified to pursue this type of research from both the scientific and practical levels and to coordinate efforts between engineering and maintenance.
The Tentative First Steps
Fleet directors have tried “additive” products and know they simply do not work.
Smithfield had the most important criteria in place to test the CB and FK products:
A good oil analysis program with trend monitoring
They were using computers to track their PM schedules and record fleet fuel usage on a truck by truck basis. A good baseline is key to obtaining quality test results
Three known trusted drivers were chosen to properly dose at the 1-3000 ratio
Class 8 trucks powered by Cat C-12 engines having 150,000 to 250,000 miles were chosen
The smaller C-12’s were worked hard running at peak temperatures and pressures
Initial Planning and Expectations
CB uses a metallic catalyst which modifies the burn to give more of a push and less of a bang so operating temperatures in the upper cylinder area will decrease by as much as 75 deg C.
CB burns more of the BTU in the fuel, shown by testing, without increasing Cezanne which would raise the engine temperatures, produce more upper cylinder wear and increase Knox output.
Through time this will significantly reduce iron in the oil analysis demonstrating less upper cylinder and ring wear.
The solvents in the CB will slowly start to clean out the carbon buildup that occurs in all diesel engines. Engines torn down for inspection after using CB for some time show almost no carbon deposits and are extremely clean.
Initially this carbon has to go somewhere. It is picked up in the oil. Thus the first oil change after starting to use CB will show a higher viscosity and more soot than normal. During this clean-up period, we didn’t expect to see any significant increase in fuel mileage.
As the CB lubricity agents begin to work during the cleanup, oil analysis will show greatly reduced wear metals such as chromium, copper, tin and lead. Expect the first oil change to be dirtier and have a higher viscosity and soot and even slightly more wear metals. This is normal and should be expected.
CB allowed Gary to be prepared for the mandatory switch to ULSD (15ppm) fuel in January of 2007.
By the third oil change, soot levels were cut by 50%, viscosity was perfectly stabilized, wear metals were extremely low and the engines were running smoother. There was visibly less smoke coming out of the exhaust stacks. The PMs at this time were done at 30,000 miles and the iron levels fell to around 30 ppm which is extremely low and showed decreased ring and liner wear.
Dosing the Fleet
To get good actual fleet mileage numbers, we had to treat the entire fleet without telling any of the drivers and observe the results. The treat rate for Original CleanBoost was 1:3000.
Both locations, Smithfield, VA and Tar Heel, NC received about one fuel drop (7,500 gal) per day.
Every day when the drop arrived, they would grab a 2.5 gallon Jerry Can, hand agitate it for about a minute and pour it into the storage tank prior to the actual drop of fuel.
Now, every piece of equipment coming through the fuel dock got treated fuel without anyone knowing what they had. Also, the mules and reefer units started running on treated fuel.
Proof of Lubricity Enhancement
Gary was concerned about the engines in his reefer units and Smithfield has a lot of them. He had gotten some ULSD and had been running a side test on some of them to see the effects of 15 ppm fuel. They were starting to have injection pump problems and injector failures. Gary showed this author a small stack of fuel pump cam plates that had to be replaced during this test and they were all purple from the excess heat due to the lack of lubricity in the USLD fuel. Gary stopped this testing and allowed everything to use the CB dosed fuel and since that point in time Gary has not had a single fuel system failure due to a lack of lubricity as long as the fuel was treated with CB.
Fuel Usage Decrease
We were able to operate with the CB for over a year and even the mules started running smoother with less smoke. Gary kept accurate information on each unit and was able to track them through the changing seasons. The results were astounding to both of us.
During the hot months the fleet averaged a 10% decrease in fuel consumption.
During the cold months the fleet averaged a 7.5% decrease in fuel consumption.
The annual total facility decrease in fuel consumption was 8.5%.
Gary stated this to me in emails and showed me the oil analysis reports.
Needless to say, we both were very impressed as the savings in dollars were tremendous.
New Trucks
Smithfield replaced older units and purchased about 100 post 2009 tractors with the Cummins ISX engines.
Each power unit had cooled EGR and Diesel Particulate filters (DPF’s).
Fleet fuel mileage drop dramatically after the purchase of these engines and not using CB.
Gary noticed a slight but definite fuel consumption decrease in the 3 rigs with the FK units. Eventually he documented a 4-5% decrease in fuel consumption attributed to the cleaner oil.
Within two months, the 8.5% increase in economy returned to the entire fleet.
Gary has stated to this author that they will never be without CB again and are going to expand the use of CB into their other operations and Ag Divisions.
Yet Another Benefit Surfaced
The post 2007 engines computer tracks each time the DPF goes into cleaning burn cycle. Gary has documented that the engines, now on CB again, do this about 1/3 less than they did before re-starting CB. This will most certainly extend the life of the DPF’s, how long still remains to be determined.
In Conclusion
The Smithfield testing with the starting and stopping of CB have conclusively proven benefits well beyond out initial expectations. The synergy of using both the CB and the by-pass oil filtration FK products has shown remarkable results, proven by thorough computer analysis and comprehensive oil analysis. Fuel economy conclusions: there is a 4 to 5% increase in mpg by keeping the oil clean. Combined with CleanBoost there is an 11 to 13% increase in mpg.
Any company wishing to enjoy these benefits should take this testing as a standard and just implement these programs without hesitation. We have taken a post 07 engines and extended the oil life beyond 100k miles. I have spoken with a lot of folks within the industry; no one has come close to pulling this off.
RMS Consulting Services, Paul M. Whetstone
December 2009
RESTORE SOLUTIONS, Inc.
3198 Royal Lane, Ste 207
Dallas, Texas 75229
(214) 615-5909
[email protected]
