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Parker Kittiwake Announces The Easy-To-Use Cat Fines Test Kit
Parker Kittiwake Announces The Easy-To-Use Cat Fines Test Kit
aerospace
climate control
electromechanical
filtration
fluid & gas handling
hydraulics
pneumatics
process control
sealing & shielding
Key benefits
• Low cost
• Simple to use
• Onboard usage
• No installation required
• Compact, lightweight and portable
The test kit The Cat Fines Test Kit identifies excessive levels of cat fines
onboard and in real time, allowing the operator to take
The Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit is an innovative preventative action and call for further laboratory testing to
breakthrough in the early detection of catalytic (cat) fines. confirm that the fuel is suitable before it is used. It has been
In just 15 minutes, the simple onboard test identifies the designed to flag up HFO samples that may be contaminated
presence of abrasive silicon and aluminium cat fines, which with dangerous levels of cat fines before the fuel has even been
can cause irreversible damage to a vessel’s fuel system if they pumped aboard and is simple to perform, cost effective, and
become embedded into engine components. can be completed within a few minutes.
The test is a simple to use chemical bottle test which The Cat Fines Test Kit is capable of identifying those fuel samples
determines the level of cat fines present in a representative that have a cat fine concentration of > 60 ppm (Al + Si),
sample of fuel oil, allowing the operator to identify the ingress and which therefore exceed the limit recommended by ISO
of abrasive and potentially damaging components in the fuel oil 8217:2012. It has been specifically designed to provide the crew
before it enters the system. with a clear sail or don’t sail indication with regards to fuel quality.
Cat fines can accumulate in the fuel during storage, and 2. Fill a second test tube to the first
become concentrated before fuel oil separators and (0.5 ml) graduation line 5 ml 5
consequently before entering the engine. The rate of settling with Reagent Alpha. 4
is determined by Stokes’ Law, which takes account of the 3. Place the tubes in opposite 3
particle size, difference in density of the catalyst fine and positions on the centrifuge holder. 2
1
the fuel, and the viscosity of the fuel. It is vital to ensure that 0.5 ml
measurements taken on the level of cat fines in fuel is current
and not retrospective.
4. Completely fill a syringe with HFO
by drawing the plunger back to
Various values are quoted for the density of cat fines, but in the stop very slowly.
reality they may be likened to honeycombed structures. This
is further hindered by the outer shell of water by virtue of the 5. Unscrew the cap from a new Cat
Fines Test Fluid Bottle and add all
close proximity of the density of water to that of the fuel.
of the HFO from the syringe.
NOTE: The ISO 8217:2012 limit for acceptable levels of Cat Fines in HFO is 60 ppm.
Cat Fines Test Kit FG-K30566-KW 10. Very slowly add the mixture until
the 5 ml line is reached (refill the
Contents Centrifuge and Power Supply pipette as required).
Reagent Alpha
Sample Preparations (25) 11. Close the cap on the test tube
Pipettes (25) and return it to its position
Syringes (25) opposite the water-filled tube.
Centrifuge Tubes (50) 12. Ensure centrifuge lid is firmly shut.
Safety Goggles and Gloves Spin the tubes for 15 minutes.
(push timer down to start).
Power Supply AC/DC Switching Adaptor
110/240VAC, 50/60Hz,1.4A 13. Use picture below to decide
whether the HFO has significant
Size Carry Case 350 x 560 x 220mm
(> 20 ppm) cat fine contamination.
Centrifuge 190 x 240 x 140mm
Weight 7.80kg
E
ver since catalytic cracking processes were developed
during the oil crisis to squeeze more product from
crude stock, cat fines have been a problem in marine
engines. So the problem is not a new one, and it is not
going away.
Recent reports from ExxonMobil and Fuel Oil Bunkering
Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS) have found significant
problems with cat fines in engines and bunker fuel respectively. Given
the damage cat fines can do to engines, this is highly significant.
Cat fines are hard ceramic compounds of aluminium and
silicon used as a catalyst in the crude oil refining process.
They are used to enable a higher yield of distillate fuels to be
extracted from the feedstock, but often get carried over into the
end product used as ships’ fuel. They range from 75 μm down to
1μm. They get embedded in engine components – particularly
cylinder liners and piston rings – and cause abrasive wear.
Cat fine damage mainly occurs in large, low-speed main
engines because the larger fuel injection components allow
sizeable cat fine particles into the cylinders. Cylinder lubricating
oil is minimally applied to the liner surface, and does not wash
cat fines away.
Cat fine damage to medium- and high-speed engines is less
frequently found, as more copious splash lubrication of cylinder
liners can wash away cat fine particles, while the closer tolerance
of components prevents the ingress of larger particles.
Damage caused by cat fines can lead to significant costs, with the
price of replacing just one liner estimated at US$65,000 for parts
alone. This can rapidly escalate to more than US$1M when the
labour and the accompanying expenses of downtime, repair and off-
hire are considered, as well as the likely event that multiple cylinders A cutaway of an MAN liner and piston with damage to the piston rings
are affected.
FOBAS’s findings stemmed from a test undertaken at
Fujairah, a strategic bunkering port. This showed that a number
of bunker samples delivered aluminium and silicon cat fines engine manufacturers in engine design.
at levels ranging from “above 75mg/kg up to nearly double, at Furthermore, the FOBAS analysis goes on to state that
139mg/kg.” Given that the ISO 8217 specifications for marine “Al+Si at 75mg/kg can be difficult to reduce but may be
fuels maintain a 60 mg/kg limit for cat fines, this is bad enough. manageable; however Al+Si at levels up to 139mg/kg would
But when one considers that this ISO threshold is considered prove extremely difficult to bring down to acceptable levels for
to be fairly high and that research has shown that even particles engine entry (<15mg/kg). Carry over of abrasive Al+Si material
of 10μm can contribute to wear, this is alarming news. Equally, at high levels may lead to damage to fuel pumps/injectors and
a significant discrepancy exists between ISO standards for cat cylinder components.”
fine content and the content recommended and anticipated by ExxonMobil’s research involved in-depth data analysis of
Parker Kittiwake
Hydraulic Filter Division Europe
3 - 6 Thorgate Road Littlehampton
West Sussex BN17 7LU United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1903 731470
Email: kittiwakesales@parker.com
Web: www.kittiwake.com
Web: www.parker.com