High Wear Rates
Some of the operational benefits of a full marine fuel testing program were discussed in section 1 of this document during which reference was made to aluminium and silicon, commonly referred to as ‘catfines’. Over a longer period of time, the commercial implications must also be considered.
Once the level of catfines in a fuel increase above the engine manufacturers maximum level at the point of injection (set at less than 20 mg/kg), the risk to increased wear to the engines fuel pumps, injectors, piston rings and cylinder liners becomes significant.
The industry can show from statistical records that the overall average of aluminium and silicon content is currently around 27 mg/kg. Also, more than half of samples have a combined aluminium plus silicon content in excess of 20 mg/kg thus we are dependent on efficient pre-treatment. This is where the purifier efficiency monitoring can help to ensure wear costs are minimised.
The commercial implications of these higher wear rates is obvious and individual ships can then put a cost on higher wear rates, however this value will be different from one ship to another. What is unanimously agreed is there will be an increased cost!
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