Marine Fuel Oils

By S Premanathan

Standards
CIMAC International Council on Combustion Engines ISO International Standardisation Organisation

For Exams & Orals

We will only use ISO 8217 : 2005 3rd Edition and MARPOL Annex VI regulations

Main Changes Under ISO 8217-2005

Number of residual fuel grades has been reduced from 15 to 10 Tests for used lub oil Viscosity is measured at 50oC instead of 100oC Unit for viscosity is mm2/s or cSt

Major Bunker Testers

DNV Petroleum Services operated by Det Norske Veritas FOBAS Fuel Oil Bunker Analysis and Advisory Service operated by Lloyds Register Viswa Labs

Charterer Agreement
Most charter party agreements state that in the event of fuel oil quality dispute, the mentioned oil testers result will be final. The fuel grade to be supplied will be mentioned

Density
Fuel is delivered by volume and sold by mass Density = mass / volume Unit is kg/m3 Reference temperature is 15oC Density is one of the empirical measure for both energy content and ignition performance

Density
For fuel treatment systems containing a centrifuge with a water seal, knowledge of the fuel density is necessary so that the correct gravity disc is fitted to obtain the correct fuel / water interface, and hence efficient treatment.

Fuel Purifiers

MOPX with gravity disc Max 0.991 density limit

ALCAP without gravity disc Max 1.010 density limit

Kinematic Viscosity
Measured at 50oC and the unit is mm2/s Knowledge of viscosity is necessary for the estimation of the required temperatures for storage, pumping and injection. Necessary for the determination of heating required for transfer purposes.

Flash Point
For marine fuel storage, minimum temperature is 60oC as per SOLAS Most Classes recommend maximum heating temperature in storage and settling tanks to be 10oC less than measured flash point For emergency outside the machinery spaces, the flash point must be greater than 43oC

Pour Point
Winter pour point is of importance if your ship has no heating tanks Below this pour point, the fuel become like wax Most ship operators maintain bunkers at least 5oC above pour point This is mostly for the purpose of bunker transfer

Carbon Residue
Measured in % m/m Indication of deposit forming tendency of fuel Indication of fouling factor causes increased fouling of the gasways, necessitating more frequent cleaning, especially of the turbocharger and exhaust gas boiler Fuels with a high carbon residue value may cause problems in engines under low load running conditions

Ash
Measured in % m/m Residue other than carbonaceous matter In crude oils, mostly found as sand, dirt and rust scales Even after fuel treatment, still maybe present mostly as mixture of aluminium, silicon, calcium, zinc, phosphor, iron, nickel, sodium and vanadium, etc (in soluble form)

Water
Measured in % v/v Why we need to test for water? Encourages sludge formation Corrosion of tanks and pipelines Steam erosion of injectors by cavitation Disruption of the atomising spray pattern Retardation in the speed of combustion resulting in still burning particles striking the cylinder wall and crown Dilution of the cylinder liner oil film

Sulphur
Found in natural form Not separated by centrifuging Dew point is directly proportional to the sulphur content and the exhaust gas pressure

Vanadium and Sodium

Vanadium is present in the fuel in soluble compounds and, consequently, cannot be removed. Vanadium, in combination with sodium, may lead to exhaust valve corrosion and turbocharger deposits. This can occur especially if the weight ratio of sodium to vanadium exceeds 1:3, and especially in the case of a high vanadium content. Vanadium deposits can be so hard that they can cause extensive damage to the TC nozzle ring and turbine wheel. The only way to remove vanadium depositsis to disassemble the components and remove the deposits mechanically.

Vanadium
Found in natural form Known for its high temperature corrosion Combines with sodium to form a a molten paste at temperatures around 500oC

Aluminium + Silicon
Refinery product in the form of catalyst fines Can be reduced by centrifuging

Catalytic fines embedded in piston ring

Catalytic fines embedded in piston ring

Abrasive wear of liner

Total Sediment, Potential

Sludge forming tendency of fuel

Asphaltenes precipitation
Stable Unstable

Used Lubricating Oil (ULO)

Test for calcium, phosphorus and zinc

Zinc, Phosphorus & Calcium

A Fuel is considered to be free of ULO if one or more of the elements Zinc, Phosphorus & Calcium are below the limits. All three elements shall exceed the limits before deemed to contain ULO.

Is this considered having ULO?

Calcium.25 mg/kg Phosphorous20 mg/kg Zinc20 mg/kg

Is this considered having ULO?

Calcium.35 mg/kg Phosphorous12 mg/kg Zinc12 mg/kg

Is this considered having ULO?

Calcium.35 mg/kg Phosphorous20 mg/kg Zinc20 mg/kg

Total Acid Number

Indication of the presence of acids No limit mentioned in ISO 8217 or MARPOL Annex VI Most reputed suppliers claim they supply less than TAN 3

CCAI
Calculated Carbon Aromacity Index Determined from the density and viscosity Mostly used to indicate ignition quality although scientifically not proven CCAI values 790 to 830 : very good to good 830 to 850 : good to satisfactory 850 to 870 : satisfactory to bad 870 to 970 : bad to unacceptable

CCAI- measure of Aromaticity of fuel to know its

ignition quality
Ignition quality can be measured by Aromaticity of fuel. The ignition quality of a fuel is a measure of the relative ease by which it will ignite There is accepted empirical equations based on the density and viscosity of the fuel. These are the Calculated Carbon Aromaticity Index (CCAI) range 800-870 Better methods are available

CCAI- Effect on engine type 4 stroke engines

CCAI 800 810 820 830 840 850 860 870 880 890 900 910 920

1 2

1Engine type old-1970 2 Engine Type mid-1980 3 Engine type modern-1990

Normal operating condition Difficulties may be encountered May cause engine damage

Net Specific Energy

Also known as lower calorific value Measured in MJ/kg The energy released by a unit of fuel Density and the sulphur content play a part While water content is to be considered, it is presumed water is removed by centrifuging or treatment

Question
Study the specifications as specified by a major engine manufacturer Propose the most economical fuel grade for your vessel

Major Engine Specs

Property Density @ 15oC Kinematic Viscosity @ 50oC Flash Point Pour Point Carbon Residue Ash Total Sediment Potential Water Sulphur Vanadium Aluminium + Silicon Units kg/m3 cSt
oC oC

Value 991* 700 60 30 22 0.15 0.10 1.0 5.0 600 80

% m/m % m/m % m/m % v/v % m/m mg/kg mg/kg

Centrifuges
*Centrifuges capable of handling fuels up to 1010 kg/m3 Alfa LavalALCAP Westfalia.Unitrol MitsubishiE-Hidens II

Recommended Book
A Practical Guide to Marine Fuel Oil handling By Chris Leigh-Jones IMAREST publication

1. Paraffins
The paraffinic can be either straight chains (normal) or branched chains (isomers) of carbon atoms. Gas. Lower Boiling Point methane CH4 Lower Boiling Point ethane C2H6 propane C3Hs butane C4H10

H C

2. Aromatics
general formula: C6H5 - Y (Y is a longer, straight molecule that connects to the benzene ring) ringed structures with one or more rings rings contain six carbon atoms, with alternating double and single bonds between the carbons typically liquids examples: benzene, napthalene

Benzene

3. Naphthalenes
general formula: CnH2n (n is a whole number usually from 1 to 20) ringed structures with one or more rings rings contain only single bonds between the carbon atoms typically liquids at room temperature examples: cyclohexane, methyl cyclopentane

Asphaltenes
Bunker fuel oil consists of Asphaltene particles suspended in oily medium. These are large heavy aromatic hydrocarbon molecules with high Carbon/Hydrogen ratio, Slow burning and tend to obstruct the combustion process. They are responsible for increasing oil viscosity, causing ignition delay and producing Carbon deposit on injector nozzles, Piston crown etc Percentage of Asphaltenes present in fuel affects its Compatibility with other fuels

Asphaltenes precipitation
Stable Unstable

Need for refining

The problem with crude oil is that it contains hundreds of different types of hydrocarbons all mixed together. You have to separate the different types of hydrocarbons to have anything useful. Fortunately there is an easy way to separate things, and this is what oil refining is all about.

Refinery Process

Bunker fuel- residue from different processes

Orals
What action would you take if your fuel oil settling tank spring-loaded drain valve is choked?

Answer
Put FO transfer pump to manual mode and stop Lower settling tank as low as possible to overflow/spill tank using manual drain valve Using flanged air/steam connection, blow choked pipe, gently tapping with hammer Never use sinuous wire to clear choke!!!!!

Orals
What action would you take if your fuel oil service tank spring-loaded drain valve is choked?

Answer
Change-over m/e suction to high suction Manually lower service tank level as much as possible by draining to overflow/spill tank Using flanged air/steam connection, blow choked pipe, gently tapping with hammer

Orals
If for some reason, you are unable to clear choked service tank spring loaded valve, how would you continue voyage taking all the precautions.

Answer
Service tank must be manually drained to overflow tank as frequently as possible Purifier throughput to be about 5~10% above main engine consumption All fuel line filters including auto backflush must cleaned often and at least one set ready for exchange at all times Drain from the mixing column if possible

Orals - Question
What is the maximum bunkers liftable on a ship? Japan to Singapore to Durban Bunkering in Singapore What is the minimum bunkers for arrival Durban?

At Sea

Japan

All units in cubic metres Take Sounding of all tanks and calculate ROB = X Calculate ROB at Singapore as Z = X Y (Y = remaining voyage consumption to Singapore) keep as many empty tanks as possible - consolidate fuel tanks of same grade - in port Singapore, settling and service tanks to be full When ordering bunkers in Singapore, order as 85% x full tank capacity unpumpables for each tank Note No mixing bunkers of different grades Ordering / Consumption of bunkers must be done in consultation with Master/Chief Officer

Singapore

Orals - Answer
85% for normal safe loading Bunkering Plan to be briefed Usual shipboard settings 92% high level alarm 95~98% for high-high level alarm or with overflow arrangement

Singapore

Durban Arrival Durban should be such: ROB departure Singapore voyage consumption - unpumpables in empty tanks + 3~5 days extra daily consumption or 20% more than voyage consumption, the more, the better

Gross Tonnage

Nett Tonnage

Orals
What are the SOLAS regulations pertaining to service tank requirement?

Answer
Refer to SOLAS Chapter II-1, Part C Machinery Installation, Regulation 26 General, Item 11.

Answer
Location & arrangement of vent pipes for fuel service, settling and lubricating oil tanks should be such that in the event of a broken pipe, there is no risk of ingress of seawater splashes or rainwater. Fuel oil service tank for each type of fuel used onboard should have a capacity of at least 8 hours at maximum sea speed with diesel generators running.