Americas News
Cat Fines Up in US Bunkers as Sulfur Level Drops
The introduction of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) has seen US bunker fuel reduce in sulfur content to meet regulations, but cat fines in the fuel have risen as a result, according to a presentation by fuel testing agency Det Norske Veritas Petroleum Services (DNVPS) reported by Platts.
Charlotte Rojgaard, the company's global technical manager, told an audience at the Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON) yesterday that tests show aluminum and silicon (Al + Si) levels in fuel supplied at US ports went from around 35 mg/kg in January to nearly 40 mg/kg in August, after the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) went into effect.
The average sulfur level fell from 2.4 percent in January to around 1.8 percent in August.
The ECA rules came into effect on August 1, 2012 and put a cap of the amount of sulfur in bunker fuel used in the zone at 1 percent by weight.
During the same period globally, the Al + Si levels were said to be consistent at around 26-27 mg/kg, while sulfur levels dropped from around 2.3 percent in January to 2.1 percent in August.
Rojgaard said additional blending activity to create the lower sulfur fuel can compromise quality, with issues including increased catalytic fines, higher average density, ignition and combustion problems, more unstable fuel components, and chemical contamination.
In the first nine months of 2012 DNVPS said it issued 14 bunker alerts in the US related to aluminum and silicon, density, and sodium levels compared with six in 2011.
Aluminum and silicon in fuel oil indicate the presence of catalytic fines, particles that can cause high abrasive wear to piston rings and cylinder lines, according to Wärtsilä Corp.
A report by the UK P&I Club in October said some ships are having difficulty making the transition to low sulfur fuel.
