64 Questions and Answers on the Marine Diesel Engine___________

_____________Fuels, Lubricants - Treatment and Storage 60

If two or more separators are required to handle the maximum fuel requirement of the engine, the discharge from each pump must not be brought into a common line to feed the separators. Each separator should have its own heater or the fuel should be heated prior to being handled b the separator!s own suppl pumps. "he lowest-cost fuels supplied toda have a high viscosit , densit , and carbon content. "hese #inds of fuel require a high temperature when being treated in a fuel cleaning s stem consisting of separators and$or clarifiers. "he maximum temperature for heating the fuel prior to cleaning treatment is governed b the boiling point of water, which limits the preheating temperature to something a little less than %&&'(. ) figure given b separator manufacturers is *+'( with a tolerance of two more degrees. "he manufacturers of centrifugal-t pe fuel cleaning equipment are well able to offer a wide variet of machines, well suited to the fuels supplied toda and expected in the future. "hese machines do not alwa s come within the previousl accepted definition of separator or clarifier as the are not alwa s fitted with a dam ring in the case of a separator or a sealing ring in the case of a clarifier. "he main advantage of these modern machines is that the can be operated without an internal water seal. In this respect the are similar to clarifiers. (ontrol of the cleaning function is governed b monitoring the build up of solids, sludge, and water contained within the bowl. ,hen solids, sludge and water build up within the bowl the interface between the water and the partiall cleaned fuel moves inwards and reaches a point where the cleaned fuel will contain traces of water. -ne manufacturer uses a computer programmed to control the automatic cleaning or dump function of the purifier bowl in con.unction with a device extremel sensitive to the smallest trace of water. "his device is fitted in the clean oil discharge from the purifier. /uring normal operation of the purifier the sludge and water discharge coming from the dirt side paring disc is shut off b a valve fitted in the discharge piping from the purifier. "he computer program covers fuels having a wide range of water content. ,hen cleaning fuel containing limited amounts of water the dump c cle is programmed to act at regular fixed intervals. ,hen the fixed interval expires the bowl-cleaning action is triggered b the computer and the solids, sludge and water are dumped out of the bowl when it opens. If the clean oil outlet shows traces of water before the normal time interval has expired, the water-sensitive monitoring device rela s a signal to the computer and the closed valve in the water outlet is opened. ,ater is then discharged from the bowl through the water paring disc and dirt water line. If the device monitoring the water content in the clean fuel shows a sharp drop in water content over a short time interval, the valve in the dirt water line remains open for some given-period and then closes. "he normal dump c cle is then repeated at the set interval following the previous dump c cle. If-the-water content in the dit fuel increases, the c cle of operations resulting in the discharge of water through the dirt water line is repeated and will continue if an water content is shown in the clean fuel. "he dump c cle is

again activated after the fixed interval measured from the previous dumping c cle. ,hen this c cle is completed the bowl is clean and a new c cle begins. "he period between the bowl dumping or cleaning operation remains the same irrespective of what ma occur during the time between cleaning c cles. If water content in the dirt fuel is more than the purifier can handle, the computer measures the rate of change of water content in the clean fuel with respect to time, and if this is above some accepted value the control s stem will activate alarms and cause the water contaminated fuel to be b passed bac# to the settling tan# -ne manufacturer!s equipment monitors the fluid ta#en from the lower paring disc. )gain, the time interval between clearing the solids, sludge and water out of the bowl b . opening it is fixed in the computer program and never alters in amount. ,hen a centrifugal purifier of this t pe is started the bowl is completel filled with oil. "he oil is discharged from the lower paring disc outlet line and monitored for conductivit before going through a two-wa control valve and passing bac# to dirt oil feed to the purifier. )s water is removed from the fuel it builds up in the peripher of the bowl and will be discharged during the cleaning or dump c cle. If the water contained in the dirt fuel is above a certain amount, the water will build up in the bowl and cause the oil water interface to move inwards to some point where water will be discharged from the paring disc outlet. ,hen this occurs the change in conductivit will be rela ed b the sensor to the computer. "he computer control, will activate the two-wa control valve and divert the water flowing through it awa from the dirt oil suppl and into the alternative route to the water outlet from the purifier. ,hen the time for the dump c cle is reached, the solids, sludge and water, are discharged out of the bowl, in the normal manner and a new c cle commences when the purifier is filled with dirt oil again. "he remaining parts of the fuel oil s stem are similar to those mentioned in the answer to 1uestion 2.3+. 4ormal separators and clarifiers can be used for cleaning ver high-densit fuel oils, but the sealing water in the purifier must have a higher densit than the fuel when both are at the operating temperature of the separator. If the densit of the fuel is equal to or higher than the densit of the sealing water, the separator will not function correctl . )liquid having a higher densit than the fuel must be selected to create an interface. 5iquids having a densit higher than the densit of the fuel oils now available can be obtained b dissolving one of a variet of salts in water for use as the sealing medium. "his can provide a seal with a densit and boiling point higher than that of water. "he material selected will have to be carefull chosen because of the possibilities of setting up corrosion within the fuel cleaning equipment, sludge tan#s and s stem pipewor#. (orrosion inhibitors will have to be used to give adequate corrosion protection, if it is shown to be necessar . "he sealing liquid and water removed from the separator can be rec cled after testing for densit and inhibitor content.