Fig. 18 Sulfur content of fuel oil
4. Conclusions
According to our investigation results, there are following four main adverse factors for piston running behavior in recent low grade fuel oil. (Fig. 19)
A) FCC catalytic fines
B) Improper combustibility
C) Contamination of Used Lubricating Oil (ULO)
D) Low sulfur content
In order to cope with the recent low grade fuel oil, following countermeasures are indispensable.
Improvements of the engine itself have been executed in many aspects relevant to the piston running behavior for long time, and further effort should be made for getting higher reliability of the engine.
In this point, as reported above, the fuel originated factors, which are well known for the adverse factors outside of the engine, remarkably influence piston running behavior, and therefore careful attention to these factors should be paid for safe operation.
Though this is a very complicated issue and is very difficult to solve in a short time both technically and commercially, we, MHI, sincerely hope that this paper could contribute to improve the situation and to help for safe operation of the vessels.
