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Auramarine solution eases ECA fuel changeovers

Written by Nick Blenkey
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DECEMBER 5, 2017 — Turku, Finland, headquartered fuel supply and handling systems specialist Auramarine has launched an advanced solution for accurate fuel temperature and viscosity control throughout the fuel change process when entering or exiting emission control areas.

A number of challenges during fuel changeover come from the fact that heavy fuel oil and low sulfur fuels have very different properties. In the Auramarine FuelSafe solution, the process is initiated from the fuel selector and steered automatically by sensors providing real time data to keep the properties in control at all times.

“Each vessel has different specifications, and we find it essential that the fuel changeover system is designed accordingly, with the necessary range of features to ensure a safe and reliable changeover process”, says Ole Skatka Jensen, Chief Executive Officer at Auramarine.

The key to a successful fuel changeover, says Auramarine, is to stabilize the fuel viscosity by utilizing controlled heating or cooling to compensate the temperature difference, up to 100°C. The viscosity should not drop below 2cSt or exceed the limit specified for the engine. At the same time, the temperature change at engine inlet cannot be higher than 2°C/minute to protect the fuel system equipment from thermal shock.

“The need for this solution emerged from the demand for urgent troubleshooting and repair due to loss of performance, fuel injection failures, the sticking of fuel pumps, malfunctions caused by thermal stress or even machinery seizure during changeover,” says Ville Kaataja , Product Manager at Auramarine. “A controlled changeover process will assist in preventing such malfunctions, machinery wear and downtime. Our goal was to convert this complex process into a simple and safe task for the operator.”

The Auramarine FuelSafe solution is available for newbuildings, upgrades and retrofits.

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