top of page

Your 101 Guide to know about the best ways to control the water level in Diesel Fuel


The presence of water in diesel fuel is one of the prime concerns of the diesel machine operators or the owners. Most of the best diesel fuel additive Australia revolves around two particular theories–emulsification and demulsification for eliminating water from diesel fuel. The Demulsifiers cause the precipitation of water from the fuel, which can further be mechanically separate from the usage of water separators or any other similar means.

On the other hand, Emulsifiers act by encapsulating the droplets of water and then pass them out of the fuel system in the form of vapors or expel them when the combustion cycle is carried out. Here, we will discuss with you the strategy of how the emulsifiers and demulsifiers function, and tell you –which is the best technique to get rid of water from the fuel system of the machine.

Read on to know about all the essential details about the fuel additives to use for your diesel-using equipment.

The real challenge of getting rid of water from Diesel Fuel:

Diesel is hygroscopic in nature, which means it attracts and retains moisture more frequently than any other non-hygroscopic substance. Therefore, the challenge of removing water from diesel increases manifold times. Water is either present in diesel fuel in the form of an emulsion, which is a mixture of the fuel along with water that is uniformly dispersed through the surface of the fuel; or sometimes is in the free form, i.e., water is separated to form a distinct interface in between fuel as the lighter part and water as the heavier part.

The presence of water in diesel leads to some serious issues, such as:

  • Corrosion of the components and the tanks

  • As the lubricity in the insides of the fuel system decreases, the wearing of the parts increases

  • Due to the presence of water, a situation arises known as –low-temperature inoperability of the engines, precisely due to the formation of the ice crystals in between the system components and the plug of the fuel filters

  • Presence of moisture gives rise to the growth of microbial slime that clogs the fuel filters.

Thus, with the addition of the best diesel fuel additive Australia, these problems can be efficiently dealt with.

How can Emulsifiers control the absorption of water by Diesel Fuel?

Fuel additives that make use of emulsifiers are formulated in a way to keep water in the form of emulsion in the diesel. The emulsifiers work in a way to keep the sizes of the emulsions limited so that they can pass through the delivery system of fuel without causing any harm. Once the water droplets have passed down to the combustion chamber, they can easily be vaporized and passed out of the entire system in the form of steam, without causing any severe damage to the system.

Some of the fuel additives available in the market depend upon hydrogen bonding for keeping the water in the diesel in emulsified form. Diesel fuel generally consists of the non-polar molecules (they neither have a positive charge or negative charge). On the other hand, water molecules; include both negative and positive charges typically. The chemical formula of the best diesel fuel additive Australia contains both the positive as well as negative charges, which, when combined with diesel fuel and the water present in the fuel, act as a coupling agent to encapsulate or bond all three particles to form a homogenous mixture.

Additionally, most of the Diesel fuel additives of the emulsifier category consist of surfactant properties, which the surface tension in between unlike particles of water and oil. This further makes the mixture of the two unlike substance into a better homogenous mixture, and thus the product becomes stable. As a result, the water contained in the fuel is uniformly dispersed through the nano or microscale particles,which form a bond with the fuel.

Advantage of Using an Emulsifier with diesel fuel:

When emulsifier is used along with the fuel additive, it ensures that the mixture of the oil and water is retained in homogenous form. Thus the emulsion is quite stable until it has been passed out of the fuel system in the form of water vapor when the combustion of diesel fuel takes place. The further benefits of using emulsifiers are:

  • Helps in the elimination of free water by limiting the size of the emulsions to nano or micro-scale measurement

  • Prevents the corrosion of the fuel system or any other part of the equipment

  • Prevents the formation of microbial slime within the system

How do the Demulsifiers act?

The mechanism used for demulsification is quite simple. The best diesel fuel additive Australia containing demulsifiers cause the water to separate from diesel fuel, and free water is released out from the emulsified water mixture and then is separated mechanically with the use of techniques such as filtering or draining.

Advantages of Using Demulsifier with Diesel Fuel:

When water needs to eliminated from diesel fuel on a large scale basis, demulsifiers work best along with the use of mechanical equipment to drain or filter out free water separated from the emulsified water droplets in the fuel.

Bottom Line:

The fear of water contamination basically wrecks the nerves of many operators or owners of diesel-using machines or equipment, which include both off-road and on-road applications. Both demulsifiers and emulsifiers are widely used in the best diesel fuel additive Australia either as aftermarket additions or in bulk to the diesel fuel used by the engines.

In this article, we have discussed with you about the functioning of the emulsifiers and the demulsifiers and their basic pros and cons for particular applications:

  • In case of large-scale water contamination of the diesel fuel is suspected or proven, you should make use of a demulsifier along with mechanical support to either drain out or filter out the separated water.

  • For the use of diesel with the vehicles or for any other small-scale applications, where the diesel fuel is subjected to either mechanical agitation or vibration, which would make sure that the water dissolved in diesel is retained in emulsified form, you should make use of an emulsifier. That will, along with stabilization of the emulsified water in the fuel mixture, will ensure the size of the emulsions is limited to either nano or micro-scale measurement.

Are you looking for a reliable dealer to buy the additives for the diesel fuel used in your off-road or on-road machine? Then you have landed up in the right place. At Smith Lubricants, we deal with the best diesel fuel additive Australia. You won’t be disappointed after purchasing from us, and that is a guarantee, which we are ready to give. We only deal with the best and make sure to offer our customers with ultimate satisfaction for using their equipment. So what are you waiting for, come and shop with us today!

Recent Posts
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
bottom of page