Ford's answers to the NHTSA 6.7 Investigation

BenK wrote:

As their filtration and separator systems do NOT remove 100% of the
H2O. Therefore, how can they then hold the owners responsible?

Diesel is hygroscopic, and biodiesel very much so.



I turned up this advisory as to how to deal with bio contamination:

Determination:

An assessment of any current problem can be
ascertained by testing for ATP (adenosine
triphosphate).
ATP is a protein secreted by all living
organisms and will provide the amount of
CFU’s (Colony Forming Units) in a sample.

Standard ATP testing can detect one cell
per milliliter. A portable ATP Tester gives an
accurate result, on site within seconds.
Once this has been completed and the
results show a contamination problem, a
number of options are available:

Treatment

Once this has been completed and the
results show a contamination problem, a
number of options are available:
Chemical treatment of the diesel tanks,
including agitation of the contents and
disposal of the fuel, by specialist
contractors. This treatment would need
to be continuous as fresh diesel is used
to replenish the storage tank.
Purging of the fuel tank, with
replacement by fresh diesel. Together
with:
Purging of all fuel lines, replacement of
filters, and overhaul and cleaning of the
injector.
Chemical treatment is extremely
hazardous to health and considered
deadly if handled incorrectly. A
specialist contractor will need to be
used for this process.

Alternatives;

If the chemical treatment is not completed
continuously then there is a high probability
that contamination will reoccur.
One alternative solution to continuous
chemical treatment would be to modify the
diesel fuel line to incorporate a Bacterial
Plasmoliser between the diesel tank and
the engine.
Such a unit allows the microbes to pass
easily through the fuel filters which are then
consumed in the combustion process
without affecting engine performance.

From a Loss Prevention Note of a major insurance carrier.