Trinity RSS White Paper on Oil and Fuel Filtering
Introduction
The lubrication industry and those who service it have convinced the public that you must often change your oil or lubricant well beyond what is necessary. The entrenched culture of changing your oil every 3000 miles is a well-established part of our vehicle or equipment psyche. However, the experts are correct; if you use primary flow filters as your only means to remove contaminants and do not condition the fuel. Primary flow filters do not adequately filter or condition oil or fuels. Most full-flow filters only capture particulates down to 20-30 microns, leaving damaging particles of 4-10 microns in the oil, leaving impurities and corrosion that put unnecessary wear and tear on equipment and increase maintenance time and costs while producing avoidable levels of toxic emissions. In today's eco-friendly environment, the lubrication and fuels industry must find better ways to minimize contaminants, maximize efficiency and reduce costs for the consumer while reducing emissions and limiting oil disposal. What is needed as America transitions to alternative energy sources is a hydrocarbon bridge that can reduce oil use and lessen emissions.
Size Matters
Most secondary or by-pass oil filter systems can improve oil filtering on average to 3-4 microns but can miss the smaller particulates (<3-micron), leading to engine or equipment wear. Trinity’s patented 1-micron filtering media combined with an integrated charged polarity source (CPS) is unique in the oil and fuel filtering industry. Trinity filters beat most competitors and exceed industry standards by capturing these smaller particles creating an unmatched capability in the industry. For example, using servos sensitive to smaller particles in hydraulic systems requires International Organization for Standardization or ISO class cleanliness levels well below new oil (i.e., ISO class 20/18/15 new vs. 15/13/10 for servos). Trinity's 1-micron capability can meet and exceed these standards where competitors fall short, limiting their ability to reduce equipment wear. The Trinity product's unique filtering media traps contaminants down to 1 micron while incorporating a magnetically charged polarity source (CPS) to capture ferrous metals, enhancing the filter's overall performance. Engine wear comes down to metal-on-metal wear or abrasions. The distance between finely machined equipment parts like a cylinder seal and valve is around 3-4 microns. It describes the film thickness or the clearance size (thickness/depth) of the different types of lubrication films formed between rolling and rotating components which is essential for proper lubrication. Particles more prominent than the oil film thickness can wedge between these metal surfaces, pitting the valves' sides and creating abrasions. The result is equipment wear, poor combustion performance, particulates blowing past valve seals going into the crankcase, and increased oil consumption as it escapes the oil system. Yet even smaller particles below 4-5 microns, even though they do not cause excessive wear, can build up as silt, interfere with proper fluids functions, and create costly damage to machinery. Trinity’s patented 1-micron filter and integrated CPS pull out impurities below this level, removing the potential for silt buildup and ensuring that any remaining particulates are within the film thickness (i.e., 3-4 microns) and do not pose any harmful threat to the equipment. Unfortunately, only some in the industry can meet these requirements leaving businesses no option but to change their lubricating fluids often.
Magnetism, Hydrocarbons, and Filtering
The magnetic effects on a hydrocarbon vary depending on how you charge and apply the magnetic field. The key to conditioning hydrocarbons or fuel compounds is to break up the hydrocarbon clusters into smaller groups that can quickly bond with oxygen for combustion. However, the magnetic application differs for oil or fuel filters like diesel fuel, another aspect of the Trinity filtering system. When applying magnetics to the filters, the difference is to pull out the ferrous material or particulates that end up in the oil due to engine or equipment wear. Removing these harmful metals entering the filtering media enhances its ability to adsorb smaller particulates and contaminants and better absorb the water, improving overall capacity. In addition, charging the magnets differently than a conditioner in this application also promotes the coagulation of hydrocarbons that attract particulates. Larger hydrocarbon clusters, in this case, are more accessible for the filter to catch early and remove them, leaving more area for the patented 1-micron filtering element to capture smaller particulates. Field tests have shown 10%-25% better performance with the CPS integrated into the filter element, while independent lab tests have shown a 67% increase in the functional life of the filter elements. In addition, a magnetic field applied to a hydrocarbon reduces its surface tension, thus affecting fluidity and overall equipment efficiencies. The group vibrational frequency of hydrocarbon molecules or the strength of the bond determines their molecular attraction energy. The higher the frequency, the lower the absolute value of molecular attraction energy or the lower the group attraction energy. Research has shown that the vibrational frequency increases; therefore, the molecular attraction force among hydrocarbons decreases after they are magnetized. Hence, the property indexes of hydrocarbons, such as s fluids surface tension influenced by the molecular attraction force, decline after the hydrocarbons flow through a magnetic field.12 Applying a CPS on a filtering element helps maintain the original oil’s viscosity providing an efficient flow throughout the lubrication system, assuming standard equipment operating temperatures. As a result, initially rated viscosity oils continue to work like new and pass more freely throughout engines, increasing oil volume circulation and the oil's ability to cool, clean, and lubricate at all temperatures.3 The result is a more efficient lubrication system.
However, it is essential to point out that oil viscosity is vital to an engine's or equipment's health based on operating conditions recommended by the equipment manufacturer. Therefore, the lubricant's advertised viscosity or weight follows the manufacturer's recommendation based on equipment use and caution against using Trinity’s fuel conditioner on oil or lubricants that need a specific viscosity...e.g., high-performance and temperature engines where lower or higher viscosity affect the oil's film thickness and strength.
It’s Not Just About Cleaning Oil
Trinity’s filtering system is for oil and its constituents, like diesel fuel. Diesel fuel can pick up contaminants along its path to the consumer or business through pipelines, terminals, delivery trucks, underground storage tanks, and dispensing equipment. Left unattended and not taking steps to keep it clean “can degrade your fuel economy, damage expensive fuel systems components, and cause unnecessary downtime,” which adds to additional costs.4 In addition, numerous businesses use periodic polishing (cleaning) of fuels, unlike Trinity's continuous cleaning method, which does not provide for optimum filtering of fuel, especially fuel left idle in storage tanks. Left unattended for any length, contaminants like particulates and moisture can build up and contaminate the fuel, harming fuel injectors, fuel lines, and other system components and hurting fuel economy and performance. This problem can severely affect businesses and industries well beyond producing energy. President of Rapidan Energy Group5, Bob McNally, said, “Diesel fuel is really the economic fuel. In some cases, it’s the lifeblood of the economy, transportation, power, so it is embedded in economic activity and filtered through many goods and services.”6
Advantages
With skyrocketing oil prices (Louisiana light at $101.40/barrel (July 2022))7, individual consumers, oil-dependent companies, and overall industries must find a way to reduce oil consumption and costs. Trinity systems reduce oil consumption by up to four times and increase fuel efficiency by 10-15%. Applying this to the trucking industry, most 18-wheelers use upwards of 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year and nearly 38 gallons of oil. The current average cost for a gallon of diesel fuel is $5.30, costing over $106,000 a year in fuel alone, not to mention the cost of oil.8 Increasing the fuel efficiency by 10% saves over $10,000 a truck, and extending the life of the oil by four times saves up to $1500 per year. A trucking firm with 1000 trucks could save as much as $11,500,000 annually.
Other advantages the Trinity system provides:
Captures contaminants down to 1 micron
Integrates a charged polarity source, strengthening the filter's performance
Extends the life of the engine and oil
Increase equipment lubrication efficiencies
Reduces maintenance time and costs by up to 85%
Reduces longer-term engine rebuild costs by 50%
A green product that reduces oil consumption and disposal by as much as 4X
Continuous Cleaning Method -- As discussed, primary flow filters only capture particulates down to 20-30 microns, exposing equipment to damaging contaminants. However, many industries have turned to additional methods of cleaning lubricants or fuels, like Trinity’s bypass or secondary filtering systems. Yet, many use a form of periodic flushing to clean the oil—often on a quarterly or, worse annual basis. These occasional polishing or flushing methods are not optimum as they do not account for contaminants that enter lubricated equipment after oil changes or equipment repairs. A continuous cleaning method like Trinity’s bypass system is optimum, providing a new (or better than new) level of cleanliness year-round.
Conclusion
Oil or fuel-dependent businesses look at costs and their ability to control expenses. Dr. Mark Barnes of Des-Case Corporation states, “This [unnecessary expense] is particularly true of lubrication, where the cost of performing lubrication poorly can equate to 10% to 15% of a plant's overall maintenance budget.” In addition, high demand combined with a shortfall creates supply-chain disruptions, creating shortages in oil (or lubrication). The businesses that routinely change their lubrication oil for engines, turbines, gearboxes, or compressors are stuck either extending their oil changes or shutting down equipment, increasing downtime and costs. Also, reducing oil consumption and its disposal is an expensive issue and a moral obligation as America transitions from fossil fuels to renewable green energy. Continuously cleaning your oil should be the industry's new green standard for lubrication. Rather than continue with the current culture of routinely changing your oil, new methods such as Trinity's continuous cleaning capability and filtering performance should be the industry standard, allowing businesses to reduce their oil consumption and disposal. In today's eco-friendly environment, the lubrication and fuels industry must find better ways to minimize contaminants, maximize efficiency and reduce costs for the consumer while reducing oil consumption and limiting its disposal. What is needed as America transitions to alternative energy sources is a hydrocarbon bridge that can reduce oil use and lessen emissions. That bridge is the Trinity oil and fuel filtering system – we are the "E" in ESG.
1 https://www.ijert.org/research/experimental-investigation-of-effect-of-magnetic-field-on-hydrocarbon-refrigerant-in-vapor-compression-cycle-IJERTV2IS80725.pdf
2 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332353350 A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE PROPERTIES AND COMBUSTION OF HYDROCARBON_FUELS
3 https://www.mfaoil.com/advantages-of-low-viscosity-motor-oils/#:~:text=Lower%2Dviscosity%20oils%20pass%20more,oil%20volume%20rather%20oil%20thickness.
4 https://www.truckinginfo.com/156177/keeping-diesel-fuel-clean
5 https://www.rapidanenergy.com/
6 https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/fuel-is-a-problem-for-business-and-consumers-why-prices-are-so-high.html
7 https://gasprices.aaa.com/
8 https://www.manufacturing.net/supply-chain/article/13122751/how-rising-oil-prices-will-impact-the-trucking-
industry#:~:text=The%20Cost%20of%20Trucking,a%20year%20in%20fuel%20alone.
