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With the 2020 Sulphur cap the Sulphur limits on fuel will be reduced from 3,50% to 0,50%. Shipowners can take several options to comply:
On a regular basis we currently receive questions if fuel homogenizer work on 2020 compliant fuel. It is important to understand that 2020 compliant fuel is only referring to 0,50% Sulphur. It does not mean that any other part of the specification of the fuel is improved. Fuel homogenizers have the highest improvement with HFO 180 – 700. With the 0,50% Sulphur compliant fuel the viscosity of the fuel will be reduced, but still most of the used fuel will be above the HFO 180 grade.  The expectations for the 2020 compliant fuels are problems with:
In these areas the homogenizers excel. Homogenizers will improve fuel into a homogenous mixture. Even when batches are sometimes incompatible. Engine makers and insurance companies are expecting severe issues with the upcoming complient (but sometimes) untested fuels. The fuel homogenizers will add another layer of protection. As newest addition to Seabourn's fleet of cruise ships also the Seabourn Ovation is now equipped with IPCO's Water Fuel Emulsions systems. NOx reductions using water in fuel emulsions are significant; approximately 1% NOx reduction is achieved for every 1% injected water. The FID Injector (WFE) system is one of the simplest systems to reduce the particulate matter and soot emissions significantly. The system will target these emissions at the source, the fuel. The FID Injector has a small footprint and all necessary components are available inside the frame. Last week the IPCO WFE systems (FID Injector) on board P&O Oceana were commissioned. The systems will assist Carnival (Ecospray) AAQS (Advance Air Quality System) with reducing NOx, soot and particulate matter. The WFE system will reduce these emissions and will reduce fuel consumption due to the combustion improvement. With a combustion improvement there will be less dirt inside scrubbers waste water.  IPCO Power proudly confirms Shalx Equipment and Engineering as it’s distributor and service partner for China. Shalx Equipment and Engineering concentrates to specialize in preventive and predictive maintenance solutions for all diesel engine types in the Marine, Offshore and Power Generation industries.
With the additional of the IPCO Power Fuel Homogenizers Shalx can offer Sludge Reduction, Combustion Improvement and Water Fuel Emulsions systems again to its clients. Shalx Equipment and Engineering is based in Hong Kong and Shanghai. More information can be found on www.shalxee.com  IPCO Power receives new order to install WFE systems (FID Injector) on board Seabourn Ovation. With the new systems the whole fleet of Seabourn is covered with Water Fuel Emulsions. The system are installed to assist the on board scrubber systems in reducing the visible emissions and for combustion improvement.  Our system health check consist of several important checks. We always take pictures so we have everything available to assist the crew on board when required!  Always nice to receive pictures from clients. Our Fuel Homogenizer on board MV Margiris KL855 from Parlevliet & van der Plas  With the upcoming sulphur cap there is more and more interest in scrubber systems. Especially now scrubber wash water is also cleaner as expected by many. Several manufacturers are supplying scrubbers. Most of the scrubbers consist of a wet package to remove the SOx out of the fuel and a dry package to as after treatment to remove the PM (Particulate Matter) for example. Those dry package filter are extremely big in size.
Our WFE (water in fuel) system the FID Injector can be used as a pre treatment on board. The water in fuel emulsion with the use of a homogenizer will create an better combustion. With the cleaner and better combustion your engine’s emissions will be reduced. You target the emissions before they are created. With the FID Injector the PM will be reduced with 60 - 90%. Also every percentage injected water to the fuel will reduce the NOx with 1%. A cleaner combustion will result in cleaner wash water. Currently our Water Fuel Emulsion system is part of Carnival's AAQS Last week the IPCO Power service team have visited HAL Amsterdam, Regal Princess, HAL Rotterdam and P&O Azura to check the on board installed Water Fuel Emulsions systems and install new parts. It is always nice to revisit earlier installed vessels and hear about the experience of the operators of the systems. HAL Rotterdam Water Fuel Emulsions systems will receive a major upgrade. They have been in operation since 2010. The WFE systems on board P&O Azura are still nice on a picture! IPCO Power is available for meetings at the Seatrade in Miami between April 9th and 11th. Please feel free to ask for any meeting at info@ipcopower.com
At the moment the shipping industry is facing several challenges. Most of them are related to fuel and emissions. The fuel quality is not improving. Based on emission legislation fuel blends are becoming common. Blended fuel can become very unstable. This can lead to major issues inside the fuel system. Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) is not homogenous and has an average droplet size of 70 micron and larger. It contains numerous much larger clusters of asphaltenes and complex long-chain hydro-carbons. It is a refinery waste stream product with a high BTU content used as fuel oil. Centrifuges and automated filters are used to clean the fuel. A percentage of the purchased fuel ends up in the slop tank. HFO needs to be heated and pressurized before it can be used to operate engines or boilers. Exposing fuel to heat and pressure will unavoidably increase the size and mass of the fuel droplet, change the physical condition of the oil and negatively impact the combustion process. Bad quality (blended) fuel tends to cause issues as tank residue and foaming fuel will upset centrifuges and filters. Implementing IPCO Power Fluid Shearing Technology reduces fuel droplet size to 3 micron and smaller to enhance the cleaning process and reduce the waste stream going to the slop tank for disposal. Smaller fuel droplets enhance combustion, lower emissions, improve fuel economy, extend engine overhaul intervals and lower overall operating costs. A cleaner combustion will have less emissions. This will contribute to a higher efficiency for scrubber operations. Also, the wash water of the scrubber will stay cleaner.  Sludge ReductionIPCO Power’s FID Reducer is installed directly before the centrifuge. As a result of the reduction in fuel droplet size, centrifuges and filters will be able to more effectively remove in-organic contaminants and stay clean much longer. Consequently, sludge generation will be reduced and centrifuge flushing intervals will be significantly extended. The efficiency depends on the size of the Asphaltenes. The larger the size of the asphaltenes, the more efficiency is reached. Approximately 10% of the asphaltenes is transformed to usable fuel. Bunker slips normally show an average of 6,5 % asphaltenes for IF 380.  The sludge production will be reduced with 50 – 80%. Below an example of the build up of sludge inside the separator without and with the FID Reducer in operation.  With less build up of sediments, the de-sludgings per days of the separator can be reduced significantly. Below an example from 24 de-sludgings per day towards 6 de-sludgings per day. Combustion Improvement IPCO Power’s FID Improver homogenize heavy fuel oil after passing through heaters and pumps in the high-pressure side of fuel system, supplying fine filters and injectors with fuel droplets of 3 micron or smaller. The improved atomization and more intensive contact of fuel with oxygen will significantly enhance combustion, reducing fuel consumption and lower emissions.  A better combustion is a cleaner combustion (less PM and soot emissions). Ships with scrubber systems will have cleaner wash water. 2 stroke engines will have a 2,4% and 4 stroke engines a 1,2% fuel saving  ApplicationsTo effectively improve the fuel quality, lower centrifuge maintenance, sludge production & disposal, enhance combustion, reduce undesirable emissions & soot, while lowering fuel consumption in engine and turbine installations, we recommend installing a combination of an FID Reducer and an FID Improver. The FID Reducer will reduce the droplet size in the fuel system just before the separator and will assure that all useful fuel will pass the separator. Because of the heaters and pumps further in the system the fuel passes through piping towards the engine will normally re-agglomerates. To reverse this effect immediately before the engine an FID Improver is recommend. The FID Improver will reduce the droplet size again to a 3 micron for an improved combustion.  The two-step fuel quality optimization processis environmentally supportive and will lower overall operating cost.
IPCO Power is sponsoring the ice-skate trainings team of HVHW. http://www.hvhw.nl
 Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) is not homogenous and has an average droplet size of 70 micron and larger. It contains numerous much larger clusters of asphaltenes and complex long-chain hydro-carbons. It is a refinery waste stream product with a high BTU content used as fuel oil. Centrifuges and automated filters are used to clean the fuel. A percentage of the purchased fuel ends up in the slop tank. HFO needs to be heated and pressurized before it can be used to operated engines or boilers. Exposing fuel to heat and pressure will unavoidably increase the size and mass of the fuel droplet, change the physical condition of the oil and negatively impact the combustion process. Implementing IPCO Power Fluid Shearing Technology reduces fuel droplet size to 3 micron and smaller to enhance the cleaning process and reduce the waste stream going to the slop tank for disposal. IPCO POWER’s FID Reducer Sludge Reduction Systems are installed directly before the centrifuge. As a result of the reduction in fuel droplet size, centrifuges and filters will be able to more effectively remove in-organic contaminants and stay clean much longer. Consequently, sludge generation from centrifuges and filters will be reduced by approx. 50 to 80%(1) as shown in the below diagram. As a result, centrifuge and automated filter flushing intervals will have to be adjusted and will be significantly extended.  The volume of sludge discharged from the fuel separator normally consists of three separate constituents. 1. In-organic debris with density higher than water; 2. Organic material (fuel) with a higher density than water and 3. water. The relative ratios depend on the condition and quality of the fuel and on the type/make and adjustment of the fuel separator.
Some separator manufacturers claim that a homogenizer will reduce separator efficiency. They claim that a homogenizer will reduce the of the separator’s ability to remove materials that: 1. have a higher density than water; and 2. reduce the water removal capability. In principle, centrifuges and filters are designed to remove water and in-organic contaminants from the fuel. Allorganic material, meaning “all of the fuel” was purchased to be combusted in the engine and not toget flushed out of centrifuges and filters and into slop tank. The function of the homogenizer is to prevent that on average one percent or more of all the fuel we purchase ends up in the slop tank for disposal. This is accomplished by reducing the size and mass droplet size of the fuel droplets enabling centrifuges and filters to more effectively remove the in-organic debris that happens to be part of the fresh fuel we bunker. Refineries have significantly reduced the amount of cat-fines and other contaminants in today’s HFO.Never the less, engine protection is top priority. And that is exactly where IPCO Power homogenizers make a contribution. They reduce size and mass of the fuel droplet consequently enhancing centrifuge and filter efficiencies. In IPCO Power’s homogenizer, the fuel passes through a 300 micron opening between the homogenizer stator and rotor that spins at 3000 RPM causing the fluid shearing. FRAS Technology(2) has confirmed that a homogenizer has no influence on the number and sizes of the hard (in-organic) particles in the fuel. CIMAC(3) has published a report comparing particle size distribution and particle count with and without the use of a homogenizer before the centrifuge. In its conclusion, CIMAC reports a 4-6% improvement in particle removal efficiency, when using a homogenizer/separator combination instead of ONLY a separator. IPCO Power agrees with the statements made by CIMAC(4) and the Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute(5). Both institutions claim that when the water content in the fuel exceeds 1%, the homogenizer + separator in tandem will remove less water from the fuel. However, according to ISO 8217:2005 norm for the fuel taken onboard when bunkering has to be less than 0,5%. Consequently, totally emulsifying the trace amounts of water that may still be coming on board when bunkering is an excellent benefit and contributes to engine and injection system protection. Never the less, accidents may happen and the 0.5% water-in-fuel limit may be exceeded. Therefore IPCO Power recommends installing a water in oil sensor/alarm module to automatically shut down the homogenizer in the event of out of spec fuel. Any reduction in separator efficiency will be visible in short notice. IPCO Power is proud to say that ALL the homogenizers it has installed since 2006 operate as expected. And, during these years, all our equipment has met and exceeded customer expectations. 1 Vessel Evaluation Reports (MV Makiri Green, MV Schieborg) 2 FRAS Technology – Oil Analysis 08-21693 3 CIMAC Paper 160 – Actual Capability of Shipboard Fuel Oil Pre-treatment Systems (in cooperation with NYK LINE) 4 CIMAC Paper 160 – Actual Capability of Shipboard Fuel Oil Pre-treatment Systems (in cooperation with NYK LINE) 5 Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute – Project Green Efforts for Existing Ships
On every vessel we visit we are providing the required training to operate the water fuel emulsion system. To maintain the knowledge you can follow the training via the following youtube link:   IPCO Power is awarded with the order to supply Water Fuel Emulsion systems for the P&O Oceana. With the order almost the whole fleet from Carnival UK is covered with Water Fuel Emulsion systems.  |
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