How do I get rid of Catfine?
If correctly operated, the ship’s fuel oil system is effective at removing significant levels of cat fines. Ensure that fuel oil sludge drains are not recycled for diesel engine consumption via the settling tank. Cat fine content can be reduced by blending in fuel oil with a lower cat fine content.
What is Catfine fuel?
Cat fines will damage fuel injection equipment. The fines are particles of spent aluminium and silicon catalyst that arise from the catalytic cracking process in the refinery. The fines are in a form of complex alumino-silicates and, depending on the catalyst used, vary both in size and hardness.
What is the maximum acceptable catalytic fines value in residual fuel as per current standard?
60 ppm
ISO Standard 8217:2012 introduced a maximum permissible 60 ppm level of cat fines, expressed as Aluminium + Silicon, for marine residual fuels, a reduction from the 80 ppm levels in ISO 8217:2005. The level of 60 ppm Al+Si is maintained in the latest published ISO 8217:2017 Fuel Standard.
What are Catfines and what are the bad effects on the engine?
What are Catfines? Catalytic fines are microscopic particulates that remain in marine fuel oil as a result of the crude oil refining process. These can get embedded into engine components and cause abrasive wear, leading to significant insurance claims.
What is total sediment potential?
TSE includes organic and inorganic sediment. 4.3.2 ISO 10307-2 (Potential Total Sediment, TSP – Procedure A) TSP is the total sediment after ageing a sample of residual fuel for 24h at 100°C under prescribed conditions i.e. the amount of sediment after stressing the fuel through heating.
Why is there Sulphur in some marine fuels?
Before the entry into force of the new limit, most ships were using heavy fuel oil. Derived as a residue from crude oil distillation, heavy fuel oil had a much higher sulphur content which, following combustion in the engine, ended up in ships’ emissions.
What is the minimum flashpoint required by Solas?
60C
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) SOLAS regulation requires that fuel used on board ships shall have a flash point of not less than 60C. This is also stated as the minimum flash point limit for marine fuels in ISO 8217, the global fuel standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
What is ultra low Sulphur fuel oil?
Shell’s new residual fuel formulation (Patents Pending) is designed to be utilised by engines rated to use ISO 8217 residual fuels. It is a relatively low viscosity, low density fuel oil with good ignition properties.
What are Catfines and why might they be present in fuels?
Cat fines (catalytic fines) are hard aluminium and silicon oxide particles that are normally present in heavy fuel oil. For refineries relying on catalytic cracking, cat fines are added to the crude oil to enhance low temperature fuel cracking. This means that 60mg Al + Si is allowed for each kg of fuel.
What do bunkering mean?
Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships, and includes the shipboard logistics of loading fuel and distributing it among available bunker tanks. The term originated in the days of steamships, when the fuel, coal, were stored in bunkers.
What is total sediment accelerated?
Total Sediment Accelerated (TSA): ISO 10307-2 (Chemical Aging) A sample of the fuel is heated to achieve a viscosity of approximately 50mm2/s. After 10 minutes, a measured amount (10% of sample size) of hexadecane is added and the sample is placed in an ageing bath at 100ºC ± 0.5ºC for 60 minutes ± 2 minutes.
What test method is recommended to check the compatibility of two fuels?
ASTM D4740
ASTM D4740 – Spot test The most common test method for stability and compatibility is the spot test. However, this method has a limitation when used with VLSFO’s. This method is developed for aromatic fuels containing asphaltenes.
How is cat fine content of fuel oil determined?
Ensure that fuel oil sludge drains are not recycled for diesel engine consumption via the settling tank. Cat fine content can be reduced by blending in fuel oil with a lower cat fine content. Resultant cat fine content will be based on the sum of the cat fine contents against the blend ratio.
When to drain fuel oil settling tank for cat fines?
Fuel oil settling tanks should be drained for water at frequent intervals during periods of operation on heavy fuel, as cat fines are hydrophilic (dissolve/mix with water). It is essential that oil drained from the fuel oil backwash filters is not reintroduced into the fuel treatment system.
What happens if you bypass the fuel oil filter?
Note: Bypassing the filter will introduce contaminated fuel to the engine, which may cause wear to the fuel injection system and the cylinder components of the engine. If correctly operated, the ship’s fuel oil system is effective at removing significant levels of cat fines.
How much cat fines can I put in my engine?
The level of 60 ppm Al+Si is maintained in the latest published ISO 8217:2017 Fuel Standard. Engine manufacturers generally recommend a maximum of 15 ppm level of cat fines in the fuel entering the engines.