Reducing Lubrication Oil Consumption
Blending-on-Board system from Maersk Fluid Technology A/S reduces lubrication oil consumption by up to 40 percent a year along with fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (Photo: Maersk)
When operating in emission control areas, marine vessels are restricted to reduce the Sulphur content in fuel. The Blending-on-Board system from Maersk Fluid Technology A/S can blend the cylinder oil for all levels of fuel sulphur, while reducing the total lubrication oil consumption by up to 40 percent a year. With this solution, the Danish company has secured an order from China COSCO Shipping Group.
“Partly on cylinder oil optimization and partly due to recycling, the Blending-on-Board system enables vessels to save up to 40 percent of the total lube oil consumption. A medium-size vessel can save up to 10 tons on recycling. The total lubrication oil consumption reduction on a medium-size engine is up to 25 tons,” says Jens Byrgesen, Managing Director at Maersk Fluid Technology A/S.
Adjust cylinder oil to fuel Sulphur
When a vessel operates close to the US or Europe, the Sulphur content in fuel is restricted to 0.1 percent while it varies from one to 3.5 percent outside emission control areas (ECAs). This means that ship operators need to adjust cylinder oil when operating with different fuel Sulphur contents.
“Our system allows shipowners and operators to blend the cylinder lubrication oil on board the vessel. This way, they can adjust the cylinder oil to any fuel Sulphur used and thereby reduce feed rate,” Jens Byrgesen explains.
Secures order from COSCO
Along with reduced costs of lubrication oil, the Blending-on-Board system allow shipowners to reduce fuel consumption up to 1.5 percent.
“In a car oil thickens resulting in more friction and wear on the engine and consequently, an increased fuel consumption. This is equivalent to a marine engine and thus, there is a correlation between the lubrication oil consumption and fuel consumption,” Jens Byrgesen explains and continues: “Reduced fuel consumption is directly connected to reduced CO2 emissions and with these benefits, we have secured a Blending-on-Board order from China COSCO Shipping Group for installations on board COSCO containers and tanks.”
Automatic blending simplifies crew operation
The Blending-on-Board system allow shipowners to meet the upcoming 2020 Sulphur regulation and at the same time, the automatic system simplifies crew operation.
“Many shipowners want to limit the crew’s daily activities by automating more processes on board the vessel. Our system requires less crew interaction than other systems and thus, eases the work of the crew.”
Maersk Fluid Technology A/S is introducing the Blending-on-Board system at Marintec China 2017.
