Our modern, data-centric society is heavily reliant on data centers being available 24/7. If there is a power failure, backup power needs to be instantly available to keep systems running. Most data centers therefore employ an emergency backup power system in the form of generators, many of which use a diesel-fueled combustion engine. However, data center operators may not be aware that the reliability of diesel generators may be compromised by a phenomenon called microbial contamination.
Commonly known as the ‘diesel bug’, microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, grow in microscopic water droplets entrapped within the fuel in the storage tanks. As the diesel generators are only used as backup they are not ‘fired-up’ on a frequent basis and the microbes have time to grow. If these microbes grow sufficiently, they can pose a serious risk to the fuel system and the generator itself meaning, the data center may not have the emergency power it is expecting.
Read more: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/your-backup-generator-risk-failure/