News Content
Waging war on soot in exhaust boilersto cut costs and increase power
WAGING war on soot is the battle cry of Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS), which offers a new soot remover among the products and services it offers to the shipping industry.
According to WSS, soot accumulation in a ship"s exhaust gas boiler leads to reduced efficiency, significant cleaning costs, corrosion and the risk of soot fires.
Refined heavy marine fuels are full of contaminants, such as vanadium, sodium, aluminium, silica and potassium, which leave deposits when burnt.
These particles, or soot, pass through vessel exhaust valves and turbo chargers, continuing with the flue gases until they reach the exhaust gas boiler.
Here they stick to the boiler"s heat transfer surfaces and impair its efficiency, as Jonas Ostlund, WSS product marketing manager, explains:
"Just like any heat exchanger, an obstructive deposit will reduce the transfer of heat and therefore reduce the efficiency of the equipment," he said.
"Soot deposits are particularly effective at reducing heat transfer as they insulate extremely well. A one millimetre layer of soot can reduce exhaust gas boiler efficiency by 10 per cent.
Left to build up to a three millimetere layer, efficiency can be reduced by up to 50 per cent.
This calls for cleaning, with typical boilers requiring five hours of cleaning during port calls, usually every two to three months. This means extra cost.
Cleaning and inefficiency are the most obvious problems, but it doesn"t stop there. Mr Ostlund said that un-burnt fuel and lubricants can also be deposited in the exhaust gas boiler. These lower the ignition temperature of soot, and increase the risk of soot fires.
"These can permanently damage the ECB and, although uncommon, pose a very real threat," he said.
The solution is simple, said Mr Ostlund. He stresses that post-combustion fuel treatments such as WSS" Unitor"s FuelPower Soot Remover Liquid Plus provide easy relief, adding "fuel treatment shouldn"t just end in the fuel tanks."
According to WSS, soot accumulation in a ship"s exhaust gas boiler leads to reduced efficiency, significant cleaning costs, corrosion and the risk of soot fires.
Refined heavy marine fuels are full of contaminants, such as vanadium, sodium, aluminium, silica and potassium, which leave deposits when burnt.
These particles, or soot, pass through vessel exhaust valves and turbo chargers, continuing with the flue gases until they reach the exhaust gas boiler.
Here they stick to the boiler"s heat transfer surfaces and impair its efficiency, as Jonas Ostlund, WSS product marketing manager, explains:
"Just like any heat exchanger, an obstructive deposit will reduce the transfer of heat and therefore reduce the efficiency of the equipment," he said.
"Soot deposits are particularly effective at reducing heat transfer as they insulate extremely well. A one millimetre layer of soot can reduce exhaust gas boiler efficiency by 10 per cent.
Left to build up to a three millimetere layer, efficiency can be reduced by up to 50 per cent.
This calls for cleaning, with typical boilers requiring five hours of cleaning during port calls, usually every two to three months. This means extra cost.
Cleaning and inefficiency are the most obvious problems, but it doesn"t stop there. Mr Ostlund said that un-burnt fuel and lubricants can also be deposited in the exhaust gas boiler. These lower the ignition temperature of soot, and increase the risk of soot fires.
"These can permanently damage the ECB and, although uncommon, pose a very real threat," he said.
The solution is simple, said Mr Ostlund. He stresses that post-combustion fuel treatments such as WSS" Unitor"s FuelPower Soot Remover Liquid Plus provide easy relief, adding "fuel treatment shouldn"t just end in the fuel tanks."
Latest News
- For the first time, tianjin Port realized the whole process of dock operati...
- From January to August, piracy incidents in Asia increased by 38%!The situa...
- Quasi-conference TSA closes as role redundant in mega merger world
- Singapore says TPP, born again as CPTPP, is now headed for adoption
- Antwerp posts 5th record year with boxes up 4.3pc to 10 million TEU
- Savannah lifts record 4 million TEU in '17 as it deepens port
