Fuel System

Fuel Oil System

• The fuel oil system is designed to introduce fuel into the
engine cylinders at the correct time, high pressure,
quantity and atomization.

• Marine Fuel oil system includes various piping systems

provided for bunkering, storage, transfer, offloading and
treatment of fuel oils.
Fuel Oil System
• The system injects into the cylinder correctly meters
amount of fuel in highly atomised for at stipulated time
based on the cycle operation of the engine.
• High pressure also helps in proper atomization so that the
small doplets come in better contact with fresh air in
combustion chamber and thus have better combustion.
• Timing the injection of fuels is also impostant to enable
the fuel to burn completely for maximum benefit out of it.
Fuel Oil System
• The fuel oil system for a marine diesel engine can be
considered in two parts:

– Fuel oil transfer system

– Fuel oil treatment system
– Fuel oil supply system
Fuel Oil System
• Fuel oil transfer system
– This system receives and stores fuel and delivers it to settling
tanks. Fuel oils are loaded through deck fill connections that
have sample connections provided to permit the fuel to be
sampled as it is taken aboard. HFO is loaded in storage tanks
fitted with heating coils. In preparation for use, HFO is
transferred to the fuel oil settling tanks via FO transfer pumps
which are equipped with a suction strainer. Piping is so
arranged that the pumps can transfer fuel between storage
tanks and then to the deck connections for offloading. Settling
tanks are used to permit gross water and solids to settle on the
bottom.
Fuel Oil System
• Fuel oil treatment system
– From the settling tanks fuel oil is transferred to the service
tanks via FO treatment system. For cleaning of heavy fuel oils
(HFO) the two stage process is commonly used. The fuel is
heated in a settling tank to about 50-60°C and then is drawn
out by the purifier inlet pump. The inlet pump delivers the fuel to
a thermostaticallycontrolled heater which raises the fuel
temperature to about 80°C, and thence to the centrifugal
purifier. The dry purified fuel is then transferred to a centrifugal
clarifier by the purifier discharge pump. After clarification the
clarifier discharge pump delivers the fuel to the service tank for
the engine use.
Fuel Oil System
• Fuel oil supply system

– This system supplies the fuel from the service tank to the diesel
engine. The system consists of: a supply flow meter, supply
pumps, circulating pumps, preheaters, the final filter, a viscosity
controller, a FO venting box.
– The pressurised system is preferable while operating the diesel
engine on high viscosity fuels. It can be delivered as a modular
unit (fuel oil supply module), tested and ready for service
supply connections.
Fuel Oil System
• Viscometer

– Viscosity

• The viscosity of fuel oil depends on the grade of oil. If the viscosity of
the fuel oil and its viscosity index are on the higher side, it would lead
to more difficulty in achieving atomization state and poor combustion
inside the engine cylinder.
• It can be defined as ‘resistance to the flow of the fluid offered by its
internal layers due to internal frictions’. It is measured in centistokes
(cst).
• Less the viscosity, lesser the resistance to flow and the fuel can be
easily atomized.
Fuel Oil System
• Viscometer

– Viscometer or Viscotherm

• A viscotherm or viscometer is used to measure the viscosity of fuel oil

at the fuel injection system of the engine.
• The viscosity of the marine bunker HFO fuel when supplied at 50 ̊deg C
varies from 180cst to 380 cst. The fuel is heated and the viscosity of
the fuel is reduced to 13~15 cst at the time of injection in the engine by
means of electrical or steam heaters or both.
• The viscosity to the high-pressure fuel oil pump has to be maintained
approximately at 13 cst to achieve efficient combustion.
Fuel Oil System
• Viscometer

– Viscometer or Viscotherm

• A viscotherm or viscometer is used to measure the viscosity of fuel oil

at the fuel injection system of the engine.
• The viscosity of the marine bunker HFO fuel when supplied at 50 ̊deg C
varies from 180cst to 380 cst. The fuel is heated and the viscosity of
the fuel is reduced to 13~15 cst at the time of injection in the engine by
means of electrical or steam heaters or both.
• The viscosity to the high-pressure fuel oil pump has to be maintained
approximately at 13 cst to achieve efficient combustion.
Fuel Oil System
• Fuel oil system vary depending on the grade of the oil
used, and a typical example of the fuel oil system for
heavy fuel oil is as shown below. When heavy fuel oil is
used, oil must be heated and kept at a constant
temperature to maintain the oil viscosity suitable for
injection.

• Typical Pressure Parameter

Fuel inlet temp. = 140 – 142 ºC (depends on fuel analysis)

Fuel Oil Treatment
• Fuels supplied to a ship must be treated on board before use
in order to remove solid as well as liquid contaminants. The
solid contaminants in the fuel are mainly rust, sand, dust and
refinery catalysts.
• Liquid contaminants are mainly fresh or salt water.
• Effective cleaning of residual fuels can only be ensured by
centrifuges: a clarifier to separate particles and/or a purifier to
separate water. In order to remove any solid particles not
separated by centrifuging, fine filters are placed directly after
the centrifuge, or in the supply line to the engine.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Cat-fines

• The catalysts (cat-fines) are usually aluminum and silicon

compounds which are very hard and abrasive. They can
destroy seals and injectors causing leaks and excessive
fuel consumption and also excessive wear in piston rings
and cylinder liners. According to MAN Diesel, cat-fines are
implicated in around 80% of engine failures. To remove
these contaminants an onboard treatment plant is required
that has the capacity to keep pace with the fuel demands of
the engine. This will involve multiple tanks, heaters, pumps,
filters, separators.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Kinematic Viscosity:

• Viscosity is the resistance within the fluid which acts against

the flow. Kinematic viscosity represents the dynamic
viscosity of a fluid per unit density. The viscosity of fuel is a
highly significant parameter as it is used to determine the
ease of atomization and convenience to pump the fuel
within the system.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Density:

• Every matter, whether solid, liquid or gas has a specific

density. The “fuel oil density” is an essential factor that
indicates the ignition quality of a fuel and is also used for
calculating the amount of fuel oil quantity delivered during
the bunkering procedure.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Flashpoint:

• The temperature at which the vapour of the heated fuel

ignites is known as the fuel’s flash point. This is done under
specified test conditions, using a test flame. As per SOLAS,
The flashpoint for all heavy fuel oil to be used onboard
vessels is set at Pensky–Martens closed- cup 60°C
minimum.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Pour point:

• The pour point is the temperature below which the fuel

ceases to flow. Once the fuel oil temperature goes below
the pour point, it forms wax which can lead to blockage of
the filter. The wax formation will also build upon tank
bottoms and heating coils, leading to a reduction in heat
exchanging capabilities.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Sulphur:

• Sulphur in the fuel is one of the main factors for sulphur

oxide pollution from ships – a pollutant which is currently
under major scrutiny. As per MARPOL, the current sulphur
value for HFO are:

• 3.50% m/m on and after 1 January 2012

• 0.50% m/m on and after 1 January 2020
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Carbon residue:

• A lab test of fuel can determine the carbon residue in the

heavy fuel oil. The fuel tends to form carbon deposits on the
surface of different parts involved in the combustion
chamber under a high-temperature condition. More the
amount of hydrocarbons, more difficult to burn the fuel
efficiently.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Ash:

• The amount of inorganic materials present in the fuel which

remain as residue once the combustion process is over is
called ash deposits. These deposits mainly consist of
elements such as vanadium, sulphur, nickel, sodium,
silicon, aluminium etc., which are already present in the
fuel. The maximum limit of ash content in the fuel is 0.2%
m/m.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Water content:

• Water in fuel leads to a decrease in the efficiency of fuel oil

and leads to energy loss. Heavy fuel oil mixed with water, if
burnt, will lead to corrosion of internal parts.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Heating & Draining

• The fuel delivered to the ship is stored in the bunker tank

where it is heated by supplying steam to the coils installed
in the bunker tanks.
• Heating is an essential process, which makes it an integral
part of fuel oil treatment.
• The average temperature maintained for heavy fuel oil
bunker tanks is around 40ºC.
• After transferring it to a settling tank, the fuel is further
heated to ensure it is at an appropriate temperature to enter
the separators.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Heating & Draining

• Once the fuel is transferred to the service tank from the

separator, the oil temperature is >80ºC. The main intention
is to ensure the smooth pumpability of the fuel oil at
different processes and to separate the maximum quantity
of water from fuel by draining the settling and service tanks
and using purifiers.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Purifiers

• For removal of water and sludge from the heavy grade oil,
fuel oil purifiers are used. Depending upon the owner’s
choice, either conventional or modern purifiers (computer
driven fuel cleaning systems) can be installed on a ship.
The oil flow remains continuous even during the sludge
discharge process. Purification of heavy fuel oil is
considered to be the most critical treatment process and is
carried out on all commercial ships.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Filtration

• Heating and purification process is used to separate water

from the fuel. However, the solid impurities such as fine
metal particles which can cause abrasion wear in the fuel
system must also be removed. A fine filter is placed in the
fuel oil supply line, which blocks the fine metal particles.
These are full-flow units and the substance used inside the
filters is usually natural, or synthetic fibrous woollen felt
material.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Chemical treatment

• Just like the automotive industry where fuel additives are

popular, the maritime industry also uses chemicals in fuels
for different jobs; However, this process is not much
popular. The main types of residual fuel additives for marine
heavy fuel oil are:
• pre-combustion additives such as demulsifiers,dispersants
• combustion improvers
• ash modifiers
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Change Over Procedures

• Considering that most of the ships today run at high sulfur

fuel oil, changing over of fuel at the right time is very
important. Moreover, looking at today’s economic condition
of the industry, it’s imperative to change over the fuel from
high to low sulfur at correct time as an early change over
will lead to loss of low sulfur oil, which is quite expensive,
whereas a delay in the changeover procedure will lead to
violation of MARPOL annex VI. This is to be done along
with 
using other technologies to reduce SOx and NOx from ship
s.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Change Over Procedures

• Also most of the ships today are equipped with 

one service tank and one (may be two) settling tanks, which
can result in mixing of two different grades of oils while
performing changing-over of fuel. Needless to say changing
over of fuel includes several important factors under
consideration.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Change Over Procedures

• Also most of the ships today are equipped with 

one service tank and one (may be two) settling tanks, which
can result in mixing of two different grades of oils while
performing changing-over of fuel. Needless to say changing
over of fuel includes several important factors under
consideration.
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Change Over Procedures
 

• Check quantity of MDO in MDO service tank.

• Check water or sludge by draining MDO service tank.
• Close steam heating to the HFO service tank
• Reduce the Engine load to 40% of MCR-load
• Close following steam tracing line valves for M/E and A/E fuel oil
lines in purifier room.
• Regulate the steam inlet to the fuel oil heater to achieve the oil
outlet temp not less than 75 .
Fuel Oil Treatment
• Change Over Procedures

• When said temperature is achieved open the MDO to system

by opening MDO Service tank outlet v/v and by changing the
position of 3 way valve.