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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.  P&O Britannia working with water fuel emulsion to reduce soot and particulate matter emissions7/11/2018
 The Water Fuel Emulsion systems (FID Injector) on board P&O Britannia are up and running. The systems are installed to reduce visible smoke, soot and PM from the exhaust emissions. The vessel will operate on HFO and scrubber technology. Together with the water fuel emulsion system environmental friendly operation is assured. Royal Princess in Rotterdam with the scrubber and water fuel emulsion system up and running24/9/2018
 Last week IPCO Power checked the Water Fuel Emulsion system on board Royal Princess. The Royal Princess was in port Rotterdam running with scrubber and WFE system. The Water Fuel Emulsion system is installed to reduce PM and Soot. This as pre treatment for the scrubber system. This way the vessel will have the cleanest emissions.
 Seabourn Encore's Water Fuel Emulsion system is up and running. With the system the exhaust emissions will be reduced. IPCO Power's WFE system is called the FID Injector. The FID Injector is an Emissions purification and combustion improvement system designed to create a stable “water in fuel” emulsion. The implementation of emulsified fuel significantly enhances fuel atomization and distribution in the combustion chamber. This results in more effective combustion, lower fuel consumption and a reduction of NOx, HC and PM pollutants, while the engine’s combustion chambers, pistons, exhaust system and lube oil will stay much cleaner. Benefits:
  The FID Injector on board Carnival Valor was commissioned between Houston and Cozumel. The system is in operation since the beginning of this month. 
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