Motion and control technologies company Racor, a division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, launched its new Racor GreenMAX fuel filter water separator in October.

The GreenMAX cartridge fuel filter water separator removes dirt from water to protect and extend the life of high-efficiency fuel filters. “An extended filter life means less filter waste goes to landfills,” says the company, adding that a high-quality fuel filtration system protects injectors to keep engines running cleaner and longer.

The GreenMAX is a modular engineered filtration solution that has the flexibility to meet any engine requirement.

The cartridge fuel filter water separator, with the company’s Aquabloc media, has a flow rate of 120 gph and is approved for biodiesel fuel up to B20.

The unit has two inlet/outlet ports and will be offered with 3 µm ratings and a large clear bowl for instant visual fuel quality checks and a self-venting drain for quick and clean fuel and water draining.

A patented filter valve mechanism keeps a fuel system prime, which prevents clean side contamination when servicing, and has a piston-style hand pump for easy priming.

Further, the Racor GreenMAX has mounting flexibility and an integrated mounting bracket for ease of installation and interchangeability.

Optional upgrade features will include a depth coalescing filter (DCM), says Racor.

DCMs are required when the filtration system is positioned on the pressure side of an electric fuel pump or downstream of any other device or additive that emulsifies water.

A 12 V or 24 V in-head fuel heater, which aids cold starting, and an integrated hot fuel blending recirculation valve, which takes free hot return fuel from the engine and mixes it with incoming cold fuel, enable continuous fuel flow while operating.

“Racor has been using filters in its line-up for nearly two decades,” Racor division engineering manager Chris van Lewen says, adding that “in the early days, industry did not adopt it immediately”.

“But now industry has adopted it, with the new emissions systems and tighter tolerances for fuel pumps and injectors. The biodiesel content and certain additives in diesel fuel make it more difficult to separate the small, emulsified water droplets out of the fuel. In applications where traditional solutions are no longer adequate for removing water, customers are now asking for the DCM,” he says.

In traditional barrier filter media, fuel is permitted to pass through the media while the contaminants and water are blocked on the outside of the filter. The surface treatment of the filter media causes the water to bead up and the droplets fall away as they become larger.

A DCM is designed to remove micrometre-sized drops of water.