ABOUT US
Bob Tatnall spent thirty years as a materials engineer with DuPont, specializing in corrosion, linings and coatings. In 1968 he first observed a little-known phenomenon called microbiologically influenced corrosion, or MIC. Fascinated by this destruction of metals and alloys by bacteria, Tatnall spent the rest of his DuPont career learning about how bacteria and other microorganisms interact in different environments. Through his collaboration with researchers at universities worldwide, he learned not only about bacteria, but also about biofouling, or the buildup of slime masses as a natural habitat for bacteria and fungi (yeasts and molds).
In 1980 Bob purchased an Oldsmobile diesel station wagon, and spent the next year fighting fouling of his fuel system by what he recognized as slime-forming bacteria. These bacteria were producing a dark, slimy mass we now know as "sludge". Through an associate he was introduced to a sludge-fighting fuel additive which helped to combat the issues he was having in his automobile. Two years later, after recognizing similar issues in his home-heating oil system and having endured fouled filters and plugged nozzles for a couple of seasons, he decided to apply the same diesel additive that had worked well in his Oldsmobile - and the sludge problem went away.
In 1991, Bob retired from DuPont and set out on his own as an MIC (since renamed "biocorrosion") expert. With few opportunities in this highly specialized field he decided to play around with sludge-control additives again, and Fuel Right was born.
The first generation of Fuel Right was simply the same diesel fuel treatment system that Bob had used to cure the problems in his car and home-heating system - a product which was made by a major international chemical company. Having a bit of Thomas Edison in his blood, he started taking this product apart and testing to determine how each part worked. Always seeking help from the world of chemists that he had met while with DuPont, he found new ingredients that made the product even better. Finding that the world had never developed a laboratory test to evaluate such products, Bob called on his early days as a test development engineer for DuPont, and designed today's "quart jar test". This comprehensive test evaluates additives to determine their ability to control sludge, fouling and corrosion in contaminated fuel systems. This test has become the basis for all product development, and no change is made to a Fuel Right product until it has demonstrated its benefit in this 18-month test.
Today's Fuel Right sludge/fouling/corrosion control treatment is the eighth generation of that ever-evolving product, and the current product line-up includes different specialized variations designed to solve various types of problems that occur in distillate fuels. In order to meet our high standards, all Fuel Right products must prove in controlled tests that they actually do what they claim to do, and they must do it better than any other product on the market. If Bob can't meet both of those objectives, then he simply recommends competitors' products to fill those needs.