The Production, Handling, Storage, and Use of Marine Fuels

Marine fuels and fuel handling are a common part of a ship’s engineers routine from taking on bunkers to ensuring the fuel is kept at optimum temperature, and as free from contaminates as possible, for use in the main engines or boilers.

• The heavy fuel oil (HFO) used by our ship’s main engines and boilers is a viscous tarry substance; very high in sulfur so when combusted in a diesel engine large quantities of sulfur oxide/dioxide along with nitrogen oxides and particulates are produced.
  By using the links in the following sections, the methods used for treating and storage of the HFO are explained. We begin with the origins of the heavy fuel oil.

• The Production and Processing of Heavy Fuel Oil

  Heavy fuel oil, or residual oil as it is also known, is a by-product of the refining of crude oil produced from oil wells/reservoirs both on and offshore.
  Offshore, the oil is brought to the oil production platform through risers that connect the reservoir to the platforms. Here it is filtered to remove sand and grit before being pumped through various separators that remove the inherent gas and water. It is then heated and pumped ashore using sub-sea pipelines.
  Once at the crude oil refinery, it is processed to remove any remaining water/salts before being heated to over 650°F and passed into a vertical distillation column. Here the various fractions are drawn off, leaving a tarry residue at the bottom of the column. It is here the HFO is drawn off for distribution to ships bunkers that after further on-board treatment use it as engine or boiler fuel.
  
  

  
  

  Recent rules and annexes by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and MARPOL 73/78 have capped the sulfur content of HFO to 4.5%, being further reduced to 3.5% next year. These "bottoms" therefore have to be further processed by de-sulfurization to reduce the sulfur level to within these limits.
  
  The next section deals with the supply and storage of the HFO in the ships bunkers

• Supply and Storage of Heavy Fuel Oil in Ship's Bunkers

  As we have seen, the HFO is produced at the crude oil refinery and transported by fuel tanker to the various port loading/storage facilities. From here it can be supplied directly into ships bunkers or pumped to bunker barges with the ships being supplied from these bunker barges while lying at anchor.
  When I was an engineer at sea, one of my duties was to oversee the loading of HFO to the bunkers after a sample was checked by the Chief Engineer) and taking ullages (sounding the tanks) to ensure we were getting the amount ordered and paid for. In those days the heavy fuel oil was black as tar, being very high in contaminates. I am sure a few solutions were added to the oil by unscrupulous suppliers such as used engine oil, scavenge drains, and sludge tank contents. Anyway, nowadays there are stricter checks and rules governing the quality of supply of HFO to ship's bunkers.
  

• Treatment of Heavy Fuel Oil aboard Ship

  Once the HFO has been loaded in the bunkers, steam is supplied to the heating coils to prevent the oil from becoming waxy. It is supplied from the bunkers daily to the setting tanks, where again optimum temperatures are maintained as the solids are allowed to settle out.
  The oil is then processed further through various heaters, filters, clarifiers, and purifiers. Eventually it is supplied to the fuel pumps/common rail injection system on the main engine.
  

• Main Engine Fuel Components

  In my day at sea as a ship's engineer, we had most of the components in the fuel systems that are used in today’s modern, more efficient engines. These were the fore-runners of the new components that have helped to raise the thermal efficiency of the marine diesel engine to over 50%
  

• Effects of Fuel Oil Quality

  The undesirable effects of fuel oil quality are passed onto the diesel engine causing at the least, a reduction in efficiency due to viscosity and poor combustion. There can also be serious effects such as corrosion and scavenge fires.
  
  By  Willie Scott
  

The Brief Introduction of Electric Power

The electric power is a kind of energy whose power is electric energy. It was invited in the 1870s. Its invention and application brought about the second high tide of industrialization. At the same time, the invention has been one of the three technological revolutions in the world. From then on, people's life has been changed by the science and technology. The large-scale electric power system in the 20th century is one of the most significant achievements in the scientific history of the human engineering. It is the power generation and consumption system that is made up of sections such as power generation, power transmission, power transformation, power distribution and power utilization. This system transforms the primary energy source in the nature into the electric power through the electric power unit. Then it supplies the electric power to the users through transmission, transformation and distribution.
There are a lot of kinds of ways of electric power generation. For example, it can be generated by the thermal power, solar energy, wind power, nuclear energy, hydropower and so on. every way has its own demerit and is not ideal. In the follow passage, they will be introduced in detail.

What comes first is thermal power generation. At present it is not a popular way, because it easily brings about the serious problems, such as smoke pollution, dust pollution and resource consumption. As for the hydro power, it is also not very ideal. It maybe submerges a great number of lands and even will result in the ecological damage. Besides, the water power resource in the country is limited and sometimes is influenced by the seasons. If the reservoir suffers from the breakdown, it is hard to image the result. The third way introduced in the article is wind power generation. It is a kind of noise and visual pollution. What's more, in order to build the wind power station, a lot of lands and forests will be occupied, which has a bad effect on the vegetation cover. Meanwhile, the power generation is still not stable and uncontrollable. Fourthly, the Electric power can be generated by the nuclear energy. In the normal situation, the nuclear power is quite clear. But once the nuclear leakage happens, the result is very terrible. A lot of radioactive materials will be released, which is very harmful for the environment and people. Besides, the cost of the nuclear energy station is very high. Therefore, how to choose the proper way for electric power generation is a very important issue. It is suggested for people to consider every aspect carefully.

Although now it is the internet era, the need for the electric power is still increasing, because we invite many electric products such as computer, household electrical appliances and so on. There is on doubt with the development of the new technology, the electric power has been the essential thing in our life.

 By Lily

Electric Power Generator - The Secret Revealed

If as you read through these lines, you are still wondering what a Magnetic Power Generator is, you are probably about to make the greatest discovery ever. And it is O.K not to know: Many of us had been misled by the corporate world, since this crucial discovery was concealed from us for many years.

The first Magnetic Power Generator, also known as an Electric Power Generator was invented around 2001 by an Australian engineer. So, it has been almost 10 years now, and even though these kinds of generators were ready to be commercialized by 2005, some people are just beginning to find out about them.
Why where Magnetic Power Generators hidden from the public?
Well, the answer is simple. This kind of zero point energy generator, is such a revolutionary device that just with the aid of batteries and a magnet, it can run a whole house!

How is this possible?

Electric power generators create FREE energy. They actually use magnetic force to induce perpetual or continuous motion. This means it creates enough energy to power itself indefinitely, without the need of external devices or resources to power it, while it provides completely free electrical energy.
So can an electric power generator replace electricity provided by electric companies?
Definitely! By using this technology, people may create their own energy for free, and, therefore, stop paying monthly bills! This is why there is a theory that major power companies have been historically hindering the massive production of electric power generators. And it makes a lot of sense: Their production and marketing would adversely affect their multi-billion business.

 By Katherine Richards