International legislation to reduce emissions from marine engines using fuels such as Heavy Fuel Oil and Marine Diesel Oil is continually being introduced. The legislation, which dramatically restricts the emission of SOx, soot, NOx and particulates, presents new technical challenges.
Wilhelmsen provides a solution to many of these challenges with its unique ‘Unitor Fuel Homogeniser’ (UFH) product line. The UHF range, which has received type approval from Lloyd’s Register, Bureau Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd, optimises fuels by converting them into droplets of a uniform small size. This leads to substantial improvements in the economical and environmental performance of the engine. The UFH range also has recognition as an ‘approved alternative means’ under the IMO’s MARPOL IOPP an IAPP regulations.
The Wilhelmsen UFH ‘Fuel Homogeniser’ uses cavitation and high shear forces to reduce the average droplet size to 3μm to give a well balanced fuel with a high surface area. All organic material will be reduced while catfines and solids, which contribute to abrasive wear, will pass through the Fuel Homogeniser untouched. The effectiveness of the purifier at removing these catfines and solids is not affected. This represents a tremendous technical advance over other homogeniser designs.
As one of the best environmental systems on the market, the UFH range gives the operator a win-win result in that environmental performance is improved while operating costs are also reduced. This is done in a number of ways, such as reducing the amount of sludge to be landed by converting it into a usable fuel, or by cutting the amount particulate in the exhaust by making the combustion more efficient. These savings in operating costs are what contribute to a return on investment that is often just a few months.
Technical Benefits
- Dramatically reduced bad on filters and purifiers
- Less visible exhaust emissions
- Increase performance of engines and boilers
- Significant reduction of abrasive wear on mechanical parts
Financial Benefits
- Reduced operational costs
- Short return on investment
- Optimal use of fuels
- Extended service intervals
Environmental Benefits
- Waste oil significantly reduced
- ‘Green’ ship image
- Considerable NOx reduction (UFH injector)
- Applicable to all types of fossil and boi fuels
- No restricted area of use
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The old problems have finally been overcome
| Issue |
Old fashioned homogeniser |
State-of-the art UFH |
| Millings of catfines |
Metal to metal contact. Catfines are ground up, purifier can't remove them resulting in accelerated engine wear |
No metal to metal contact. Organic parts are treated and in-organic parts (catfines etc.) pass through untouched. Effectiveness of purifier at removing catfines not affected. |
| Leakages with resulting fire hazard |
Widespread reliance on mechanical seals which are prone to leakages over time. Magnetic couplings tend not to have any in-built safety mechanism to prevent overheating. |
Features full sealed self-centering rotor+bushing assembly - no mechanical seals or bearings. Uses magnetic coupling with unique 'loss of coupling' protection system |
| Durability - materials of construction |
Metal to metal contact, mechanical seals, bearings and lack of special coatings all contribute to higher maintenance requirements. |
Internal surfaces have registered "Hart-Coat@" treatment - almost diamond hard. Resists influence of catfines and ensures efficiency remains high |
| Pressure drop across homogeniser |
High pressure drop across the homogeniser due to close tolerances. May need to upgrade booster pumps |
Insignificant pressure drop of only 0.2-0.3 bar. No change to booster pumps required. |
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