Treatment and Conditioning of Fuel Oil

Diesel engines on ships are driven by diesel or heavy fuel oils which are frequently contaminated with water and solids. To enable the propulsion engines to work with the minimum wear possible, these oils have to undergo continuous treatment.

 

The patented Westfalia Separator^® unitrol^® system enables separators from GEA Westfalia Separator to remove water and unwanted solids (such as cat fines which damage engines) reliably and efficiently from the fuel oil – even under the most extreme conditions of use at sea. This provides reliable protection for important engine components such as cylinder liners, pistons, piston rings or the injection system.

 

Fuel oil treatment is completed by the oil being conditioned to suit the engine. Visco Booster Units adjust the fuel oil so that the viscosity, temperature and pressure of the oil exactly meet the individual specifications of engine manufacturers.

 

Under ordinary treatment conditions, we recommend the single-stage treatment of diesel or heavy fuel oils by means of Westfalia Separator^® dtype separators. At the heart of the self-cleaning dtype separators is the patented Westfalia Separator^® unitrol^® system. This is a system which can “think for itself”, designed for unmanned i.e. unsupervised operation. The fully automatic control rules out human error, and all foreign substances which could damage the engine are reliably separated out of the oil.

 

Two key features of the Westfalia Separator^® dtype separators are the water content monitoring system (WMS) and the solids space monitoring system (SMS). Whilst the WMS ensures that oil drains off free of water, the SMS is responsible for the optimum time for emptying the bowl. The SMS immediately detects a high proportion of solids and initiates instant ejection.

 

Patents such as the Westfalia Separator^® softstream system and the Westfalia Separator^® hydrostop system furthermore ensure that the product is treated particularly gently and that a higher yield of purified oils is obtained.

 

If the water content of the oil is greater than 10 percent, a 2-stage fuel oil treatment is recommended. A second standby separator is switched in parallel to the first in such cases so that each separator treats 50 percent of the fuel oil. Splitting doubles the dwell time of the oil in the centrifuges, allowing the unwanted water to be removed quickly and efficiently.