Fuel Double Standards - Ravi Deka

"I am not running Greenpeace here," proclaimed a CEO of a large company to whom I was extolling the virtues and eco-friendliness of our Emulsified Fuels. My two hour session where  my every point  was cross questioned, countered or simply ignored, all stemmed down to one thing;  by how much would our fuel be cheaper than their current stock. 

Though we have already got used to this characteristic routine and now expect it from every potential client, I still can't help getting peeved when industry people,  especially the technical bosses just ignore the ecological impact and the long time maintenance related benefits derived from using a superior grade of Fuel.

Car Fuel
Once while facing a similar scenario, I suddenly asked my prospective as whether he uses the same criteria of buying only the cheapest fuel for his luxury car and whether he used the cheapest lubricants in it as well. Lets say he was startled for a moment, not used to having vendors question his life's choices and replied that no he didn't,  he used only premium petrol and the car manufacturer specified lubes. "Why not?" I insisted, after all fuel costs are the largest expenditures associated with automobile ownership after the cost of the car itself. He mumbled something about spurious fuel, poor performance, high cost of repairs and returned back to bargaining. My example of his double standards on fuels apparently didn't cut any ice, he wanted the cheapest HFO for his company's furnace.

Commercial Benefit!
The quest for "Commercial Benefit" (a term commonly denoting upfront price discounts in India) is endemic to all industries in India and has been one of the main factors sustaining the 40,000 crore fuel adulteration racket in the country. A myopic outlook, where the insatiable demand for discounts both for fuel as well as other consumables takes precedence over quality, the  longtime cost of ownership and most importantly the cost of downtime. A scenario where many fuel transporters are forced to pilfer and adulterate the very fuel they are entrusted to deliver simply because their clients are not ready to pay a proper freight rate and in most cases their fee doesn't even justify the cost of diesel spent on the trip.

When told about the ultra low formation of  soot and carbon deposits  on the Boiler Tubes  from Emulsified Fuels, which automatically increases the thermal efficiency and increases the gap between scheduled maintenance , most just shrug their shoulders, though we have also met engineers who nod in agreement, but invariably the conversation ends with,  “but you would have to convince our commercial people!!”

Have you repaired a Turbo?
Coming back to the CEO, I was not going to accept his guffaw on ecology with a vendor's forced grin and countered back, “point taken, but now do tell me if you know  the maintenance interval of your Generator's turbo-chargers or rather the cost of rebuilding one?” He didn't , but I knew  roughly that the expense was in INR 7 digits zone. I proceeded telling him the causes of turbo failure, which is as much due to lubrication problems, as to overheating due to being soiled by unburned carbon from poor combustion; and in the case of HFO engines, poor combustion is mostly caused by poor fuel. “But they are still working”, he protested trying to brush off my point, nonetheless my message had for once hit home.

Cost Of Downtime
Reflecting upon most  of my meetings with clients and seminars where I talked about Fuel handling  and  Emulsification, I realise that sooner or later I  always drift into an animated discussion about the actual Cost-of-Downtime.Where I have argued, lectured and even sermonized, that the actual cost of fuel was not restricted to its upfront price or consumption levels, but also involved maintenance related savings and the reduction of the cost of downtime. A cheaper fuel that constantly clogs  Burner nozzles and chokes  filters, necessitating countless interruptions in an operation is a more expensive fuel simply because its hampers the work flow and has a direct impact on productivity and maintenance. A cheaper fuel that coats the boiler tubes with a thick layer of carbon, ends up becoming a more expensive proposition because it decreases thermal conductivity and hence   the overall efficiency, not to say increases cleaning intervals which is directly connected to the cost of down-time. And finally, that the cost-of-downtime is not just restricted to the cost of spares or repairing, but encompasses everything from salaries paid, bank interest, profits lost, raw material stockpiling and production damages.

Logic??
At the end of the day, where is the logic in being so choosy about what goes into a car which is hardly used more than twice a day for ferrying one or two persons to and from work and yet be so  focused on purchasing the cheapest muck passing of as hydrocarbons to feed an industrial heart that has to work 24x7, and costs millions.


Ravi Deka is an energy efficiency consultant and

CEO / Dir. Technology at Creatnet Technology Pvt Ltd.

www.rade.co.in
www.creatnettechnology.com