Prepare for the Upcoming Change to the Permissible Sulphur Content of Marine Fuels

From food processing to coal handling to cement manufacturing, silos are used for bulk material storage in many industries. 

Proper ventilation is critical to the preservation of the materials stored in silos. Bin vent dust collectors are often installed to filter and vent dust and debris that forms in the storage container. 

Common goals for any manufacturing facility are to minimize unplanned equipment downtime and maintenance, maximize efficiency and lower operating costs. Lost production time and increased maintenance expenses work directly against the financial and production expectations of the business.

Download the case study for more details on this application and how BHA® PulsePleat® filters can help you reduce costs and improve dust collector performance. 

 

The challenge

This was the case at one processing plant where multiple bin vent dust collectors were installed to vent silos. Operators were challenged with:

• Increased operating costs due to premature filter replacements (six months life) due to bottom bag abrasion.
• High differential pressure was causing a relief hatch to open frequently. The air to cloth ratio was higher than it should be for a silo application.
• Time-consuming and difficult removal and installation due to restricted access. The filters were so degraded that they had to be cut in order to be removed, extending dust collector downtime. 
   

The solution

The plant turned to the filtration expertise of Parker Hannifin. Parker assessed the situation and recommended installing BHA® PulsePleat® Filter Elements as a versatile and cost-effective solution.  

Standard benefits of BHA® PulsePleat®  filter elements

• Spunbound polyester media provides superior filtration efficiency.
• Promote better airflow for increased throughput.
• Pleated design increases filtration surface area up to 4X.
• Molded bottom helps resist abrasive wear.
• Reduce air-to-cloth ratios.
• Reduce operating differential pressure.
• Reduce compressed air consumption.
• Eliminate the need for cages.
• Easy installation and removal.
• Installation typically requires no modification to existing equipment.
   

Additional benefits for the customer’s application

• At half the length of the original bags and cages, BHA® PulsePleat®  filters wouldn’t extend as far into the inlet area. This would reduce the potential for abrasion and premature wear.
• The BHA filter design allows for more than double the cloth area. This would resolve the issue with the pressure relief hatch by handling the intermittent air flow without a dramatic increase in differential pressure.  
• Finally, the smaller size of the BHA® PulsePleat®  filters would reduce the total number of filters required by nearly to 50%.  

Results

The plant’s engineering and maintenance teams acted on Parker’s recommendation and installed BHA® PulsePleat®  filters and realized the following results:

• Reduced the number of filters by 47%.
• Increased silo operating efficiency by reducing the amount of compressed air used.
• Reduced differential pressure from 6" w.g. to 3.5” w.g. The issue with the pressure relief hatch was completely eliminated.

BHA® PulsePleat®  filters helped the customer save nearly $16,000 in the first three years. They are now seeing a regular cost savings of over $3,000 every six months.

 

For more information on this application and how BHA® PulsePleat®  filters can help you reduce costs and improve dust collector performance, download the full case study.

 

 

This post was contributed by the Parker Industrial Gas Filtration and Generation Division.

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​The maritime industry is currently going through significant changes due to the introduction of tighter emission regulations. A stronger awareness in preserving the environment has pushed forward more stringent International Maritime Organization (IMO) legislation that imposes on ship owners and managers the use of new technologies that affect the day by day running of the vessel, starting with the choice of fuel, through changes in the engine operational parameters, and culminating in a severe reduction in allowable exhaust emissions.

The upcoming change to the permissible sulphur content of marine fuels burnt in the open ocean has brought the subject of compliance to the forefront. The most cost-effective way to meet the 0.5% sulphur limit is to blend the minimum amount of expensive, low sulphur fuel with the maximum amount of cheap, high sulphur fuel. Clearly, this leads to fuels that surf the compliance line very closely.

Of course, the issue of fuel compliance is not just restricted to sulphur. For instance, naval procurement often demands that distillate fuel supplies contain less than 0.1 % biodiesel [1, 2]. Recent technological advances mean that field spectrometers can measure sulphur and biodiesel concentrations within different fuels.

 

Download our white paper titled "The Science of Compliance" by Dr. David Atkinison to prepare for the upcoming change to the permissible sulphur content of marine fuels.

     

 

Unchartered operational territories

Combining these changes with the following factors  

• A volatile fuel market.
• High competition in cargo rates.
• The pressure to reduce operating costs.
• The introduction of new technological advancements.

have prompted the marine industry to abandon the ‘comfort zone’ that has been enjoyed for the last 20+ years. Today’s environment has a significant impact in the way two-stroke, slow speed, diesel engines are managed, introducing new challenges for different fuel types, different lubricants and ancillary equipment required to meet the new requirements.

 

Unintended consequences

Field experience has shown that all these factors can lead to:

• Engine damage caused by poor fuel quality.
• Lack of training/knowledge of the operators.
• Incorrect lubrication choice.
• Poor set up.

Solutions come in many shapes and sizes, from simple, two-minute handheld test kits to state-of-the-art online sensor technology. Through scientific testing, our lead-application engineers have demonstrated that a combination of these tools can deliver real savings by:

• Preventing accelerated wear in liners, piston rings, and pistons.
• Reducing lubricant costs by optimising feed rates.
• Avoiding catastrophic engine damage.
• Enabling proactive maintenance scheduling and eliminating costly, unexpected, downtime.

  Challenges facing the marine environment

Two-stroke, slow speed, diesel engines are used in the marine industry to power the largest commercial ships currently sailing on the seas. These internal combustion engines are used for their high thermal efficiency, exceptional reliability and ability to use a variety of fuel types including residual oils. These fuels are, broadly speaking, the very end product of the crude oil refining process and are commonly referred to in the marine industry as Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) or Residual Fuel Oil (RFO). These fuels are regarded to be the most cost-effective available; for this reason, they’re the preferred choice to power main engines and generators in large, ocean-going, vessels. HFO comes in several grades; the best and most expensive grades have the lowest Sulphur content.

Choosing HFO, however, presents challenges in dealing with the varying sulphur contents in:

• Available fuels.
• High viscosity.
• Significant water content.
• The potential presence of abrasive aluminum silicate compounds.

These materials are carried over from catalytic cracking during the crude oil refining process and are referred to as catalytic fines or simply, ‘cat-fines’. The International Standards Organization has published a specification for marine HFO (ISO 8217:2010) which imposes upper limits on these, and other fuel parameters to provide consistency in the market. Nevertheless, bunkered HFO, even when conforming to these specifications, requires further onboard processing to reduce the water and solids contents to levels deemed acceptable for engine operation.

  Regulations present challenges to operators

In the marine industry, environmental regulation is on the increase and operators are facing new challenges that threaten their cash-tight budgets. But it is not just the added cost of more expensive alternative fuels or lubricants that can impact operators, critically, it is also the effect that these changes have on the operating conditions of the vessel, leading to unexpected damage and causing unplanned downtime.

With such stringent and widespread regulations, compliance with the rules becomes even more challenging. New operating methods and procedures for fuel changeover, oils, and equipment required for compliance can indeed lead to unintended consequences such as damage caused by out-of-specification fuel or incorrect/insufficient cylinder lubrication.

Amidst the omnipresent drive for safety and operational efficiency, effective condition monitoring tools and techniques have never been more valuable in helping operators manage, avoid or mitigate these costly issues.

The proper combination of condition monitoring techniques provides a wealth of information, allowing ship operators to take immediate corrective actions to mitigate any damage, to allow continued, efficient operation and prevention of the high costs associated with undetected liner wear events. The savings associated with these early warnings far outweigh the cost of the condition monitoring tools used to detect them.

Download the white paper and learn how the combination of offline and online condition monitoring techniques can be successfully used to prevent engine damage and avoid unplanned maintenance costs due to downtime.

 

Are you attending the CIMAC 2019 Congress?

 

Visit Parker at Stand #316 to learn more about our energy efficient, high-performance solutions for combustion engine applications. The CIMAC international congress and exhibition, held every three years, is a unique opportunity to stay current with technology for the internal combustion engine industry and meet with specialists in the field. Our engineers are ready for your questions.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Article contributed by Dr. David Atkinson, principal chemist, Parker Kittiwake, part of Parker's Hydraulic and Industrial Process Filtration Division. 

 

 

 

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Today, the global supply and demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is approximately 300 million tons per annum (MTPA). Over the next five to ten years, demand is predicted to surpass supply. With such high use expected, LNG is a valuable commodity, commanding high market prices and delivering soaring profits to suppliers. That said, equipment used in the LNG production process needs to provide extended, reliable operation with maximum uptime and output.

Gas turbines are widely used as mechanical drives when compressing refrigerants as part of the LNG process. If a gas turbine used in the liquefaction process has unscheduled downtime, it can cost the LNG plant owner several million dollars a day in lost production. In fact, a single unscheduled turbine shutdown could result in the entire LNG train being taken offline, requiring lengthy shutdown and start-up procedures leading to huge financial losses.

Let's examine challenges faced by LNG turbine operators, factors that hinder turbine performance, and choosing filtration systems based upon operating conditions.  

For specific inlet filtration system design recommendations for plants using turbines in a range of operating conditions, download the full white paper.

 

 

 

 

 

The challenge: keeping problems out of the turbine

Land-based refrigerant compressor stations are often located near coastlines for easier tanker access. LNG processing facilities may also be located on floating vessels for close proximity to offshore gas fields. In either case, gas turbines used in the oil and gas industry encounter extremely challenging operating environments. High levels of small particulate in the form of sand, dust and shot-debris from drilling, salt aerosols, and harsh weather conditions all threaten the performance and health of a gas turbine. Failure to address these contaminants can lead to reduced performance, expensive repairs, and eventually could cause a catastrophic failure of the turbine components.

 

The solution: inlet filtration

To protect the turbine from corrosion, erosion and fouling and keep it operating reliably and predictably over long periods of time, a carefully designed inlet filtration system is required. However, considering the massive volume of air passing through a gas turbine inlet, installing the correct system for the application conditions is critical. A filtration system that is correctly designed and engineered to meet the real-world conditions of the gas turbine installation, can mean shutdowns are limited to only scheduled maintenance periods. Choosing the wrong system can result in major financial repercussions.

 

Filtration system design

Typically, the filtration systems will incorporate multiple stages, sometimes as many as five. They will often include:

Prefilter stages: designed to remove larger particles and protect the higher efficiency filtration stages.
Coalescers: to remove liquid contaminants
Final filter Stages: To remove fine particulate and ensure clean air to the gas turbine, the materials used here are to be selected to meet the specific needs of the installation. This can include hydrophobic media and extended depth media.    

Partnering with an expert in the specialized design of filtration systems for gas turbine protection, such as Parker Hannifin, can help to assure all considerations are met. Parker offers a range of filtration materials and engineering expertise for gas turbine protection. 

 

Conclusion

It is widely accepted that an inlet filtration system is crucial for the reliable operation of gas turbines. Using the skills of leading experts in the field will help LNG suppliers take advantage of developing and improving filtration technology, thereby keeping their equipment running at optimum performance levels.

 

Download the full white paper for specific inlet filtration system design recommendations for plants using turbines in a range of operating conditions.

 

This article was contributed by Peter McGuigan, global LNG market manager, Parker Gas Turbine Filtration Division 

 

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