Case Study · Multi-Site Fuel Terminal Operations

JY-DX40 Distributed Across Three Depots:
Standardising Diesel Quality Across a Regional Nigerian Fuel Network

Three JY-DX40 skid systems deployed at separate fuel terminals — regional petroleum distribution network, Nigeria

Project Overview

1. The Challenge: Managing Fuel Quality Across a Distributed Terminal Network

Operating multiple fuel depots across a regional distribution network creates compounding quality management challenges that single-site operators do not face. The customer’s situation presented four interconnected problems that were eroding both operational efficiency and commercial reputation.

Severe inter-site quality variance

Diesel arriving at the three depots originated from multiple sources — offshore barges, domestic road tankers, and pipeline deliveries — each with different contamination profiles. Customers refuelling at different depot locations reported noticeably different fuel quality, creating brand inconsistency and trust erosion in the operator’s commercial network.

Extreme contamination from supply chain secondary pollution

Nigeria’s humid tropical climate — combined with the multi-modal supply chain involving barges, tankers, and above-ground storage — creates severe secondary contamination. Condensation water accumulation in storage tanks promotes microbial growth. Rust from aging steel barge linings and tanker bodies introduces hard abrasive particles. Measured incoming fuel at the depots registered ISO 4406 24/22/19 — a contamination level approximately 1,000 times worse than the ISO 15/13/10 target.

Precision flow meter damage and measurement losses

Rust particles and hard contaminants passing through the loading system were physically damaging the digital flow meters on the loading arms — requiring expensive replacement and repair, and introducing measurement errors that resulted in direct commercial losses through inaccurate quantity recording on outbound tanker loads.

Frequent tank bottom sludge cleanouts

The combination of water accumulation and particulate settling required full tank cleanouts every six months at each depot — a costly, operationally disruptive process requiring tank decommissioning, confined space entry, and hazardous waste disposal. At three sites, this represented a recurring six-monthly operational burden.

2. The Solution: Distributed JY-DX40 Deployment at All Three Depots

Rather than attempting to upgrade fuel quality at a central point, Jingyuan recommended distributed deployment — one JY-DX40 unit at the tanker loading pump outlet of each depot. This ensures that every litre of fuel dispatched from any site in the network passes through the same filtration standard before reaching the customer.

Point-of-dispatch installation

Installing the JY-DX40 at the loading pump outlet — the last point before fuel enters the outbound tanker — intercepts any contamination introduced anywhere in the supply chain: barge delivery, storage tank accumulation, and internal pipeline scale. This architecture guarantees outbound fuel quality regardless of incoming supply variability.

Enhanced coalescence for high-humidity tropical conditions

The JY-DX40 configuration for Nigerian conditions incorporates enhanced hydrophobic membrane phase separation, optimised for the elevated water content typical of tropical supply chain diesel. Even bottom-draw fuel with high free water content achieves the target specification in a single pass through the system.

3 µm absolute filtration at 40 m³/h

The rigid composite polymer membrane provides absolute 3 µm filtration at the full 40 m³/h rated flow — capturing the hard abrasive rust particles and mineral contaminants that were destroying downstream flow meters, without reducing loading throughput or requiring system shutdown for regeneration.

Mobile / fixed versatility

The JY-DX40 skid configuration supports both fixed pipeline integration and mobile deployment. At each depot, the system can be repositioned to perform kidney-loop polishing on individual storage tanks during low-demand periods — progressively improving stored fuel quality between deliveries and extending the interval between tank cleanouts.

3. Results

4. Customer Statement

“Deploying JY-DX40 across all our depots was the best decision we made this year. It protects our precision pumps and valves, and more importantly, it gives our customers zero-risk fuel. Our depots are now recognised locally as the benchmark for high-quality diesel.”

— Regional Logistics Manager, Petroleum Distribution Network, Nigeria

5. Technical Notes: Distributed Filtration Strategy for Multi-Site Operators

Why centralised filtration does not solve multi-depot quality problems

A common first instinct for multi-depot operators is to filter fuel at a central intake point before distributing to individual depots. This approach fails to capture contamination introduced after the central point: rust from distribution pipelines, water ingress during tank truck transport, and particulates accumulating in individual depot storage tanks. Only point-of-dispatch filtration — at each depot’s loading arm — guarantees the quality of fuel actually received by the end customer.

ISO 4406 nine-level improvement — what this means in practice

The improvement from ISO 24/22/19 to ISO 15/13/10 represents a reduction of approximately 500× in particles ≥4 µm, 250× in particles ≥6 µm, and 125× in particles ≥14 µm per millilitre of fuel. At ISO 24/22/19, diesel is severely contaminated — visibly turbid, with particle counts that will block HPCR injector filters within hours of engine operation. At ISO 15/13/10, the fuel is suitable for all modern diesel engine applications including Tier 4 HPCR systems.

Applicability to other emerging market fuel distribution networks

The Nigerian multi-depot scenario is representative of fuel distribution challenges across Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and other emerging markets where supply chain infrastructure is mixed-age, climate conditions accelerate contamination, and incoming fuel quality is variable. The distributed JY-DX40 deployment model — standardising quality at the point of customer delivery regardless of upstream variability — is directly applicable to these environments.

Shenyang Jingyuan Membrane Systems Co., Ltd.  |  filtration-system.com/contact  |  info@jingyuan.hk  |  +86 138 8931 0698