Parker Kittiwake CMBU - Cat Fines Test Kit

Hydraulic & FuelFilterDivisionEurope

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Introducing Parker Kittiwake’s new Catalytic Fines Test Kit

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• Hard Ceramic Compounds of Aluminium and Silicon.

• Used as a catalyst in the crude oil refining process.

• To enable higher yield of distillate fuels to be extracted from

the stock.

• The process is called catalytic cracking.

• The cat fines are expensive and are mostly recovered.

• and used again, however small quantities may be carried over

with the residual fuel.

What are CAT Fines?Catalytic Fines (from here on known a Cat Fines)

Cat Fine embedded in

the wall of a Cylinder

Liner

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NO!

• Up until the 1950’s residual fuel oil was burnt in boilers, to create steam for

turbines, the most common form of marine engine at the time.

• Large slow speed diesel engines slowly became popular in the 1960’s and 70’s

as the ability to burn residual fuels improved.

• 1973 Middle East War tripled the price of crude oil, refiners forced to squeeze

more product from the crude stock.

• Catalytic Cracking processes developed 1980’s engine.

Are Cat Fines a new problem?

Oil fed boilers Modern 2 stroke Marine Diesel Drive to reduce fuel costs

The traditional factional distillation

method of separating crude oil into

it’s distillate and residual oil parts

uses heat to bring the stock oil to

the different boiling point

temperatures of the various

distillates.

Another kind of distillation is

Catalytic Cracking. The stock oil is

passed through a rector containing

chemicals (catalysts) in the form of

alumina and silica in a fine powder

under high pressures and

temperatures.

Where do Cat Fines Come from?

How big are Cat Fines?

Cat Fines retained by Fuel Filter

25µm Ø

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Or should we ask, how small are Cat Fines?

From 75 μm down to 1 μm

1 μm (micron) =

0.001 mm

25 μm

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The main components affected are:

• Cylinder liners and piston rings

• Can affect fuel pumps, injectors and valves

• In extreme cases piston rods and stuffing

boxes

What do Cat Fines do?

They get embedded into engine components and cause

abrasive wear.

Liner Wall scoring Broken Piston Rings Stuffing Box pushed

out of housing

Cat Fines Embedded

into liner wall

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Why are Cylinder Liners Vulnerable to Cat Fines?

Lube Oil Film

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Cat fine damage mainly occurs in large slow speed main engines: Why?• The larger fuel injection components allow sizeable cat fine particles into the

cylinders

• Cylinder lubricating oil is minimally applied to the liner surface, and doesn’t

wash cat fines away

Less probable to find cat fine damage to medium and high speed

engines: Why?• More copious splash lubrication of cylinder liners can wash away cat fine

particles.

• Closer tolerance of components prevents ingress of larger particles.

Are all engines at risk?

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Why the increase in Cat Fine Claims?

Environmental Legislation• Sulphur Emission Control Areas (ECAs)

Commercial Demands:• Cheaper fuels

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Emission Control Areas (ECA’s) Also Important for Exhaust Emission Monitoring! (CEMS)

ISO specification outline bunker fuel quality

on a variety of parameters. The latest

specifications, ISO 8217 : 2012 gives the

maximum Cat Fines level as 60mg per kg

(ppm) of fuel.

As a guide, the industry standard for many

engine builders recommend a maximum

limit of 7 to 15mg per kg.

There is obviously a gap!

Fuel can pass the ISO bunker specification

but can still be potentially very damaging to

an engine.

What are the acceptable levels of Cat Fines in Fuel

ISO 8217:2012

60 PPM Limit

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So, what is the problem?

The problems are many, but not limited to:

• Poor efficiency purifiers (essential part of the on-board fuel treatment plant

and a topic on it’s own)

• Lack of knowledge of the current bunker fuel quality by the ships engineers

• Lack of good maintenance practices, such as regular cleaning of fuel tanks

• Minimal and insufficient capacity of purifiers provided by the shipyard during

the build

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• Very Little, until test results, if samples have been taken, are received back

on-board. You can’t tell if there are small particles by touch or visual

inspection.

• If not tested, the ships engineers must assume that the fuel they are using

contains high level of Cat Fines.

• Filtration and purification systems must be fitted, properly maintained and

operated.

• Typical nominal filtration starts at 50µm. Could be 25µm. Note: Cat Fines

can be as small as 1µm.

• Utilising on-board Cat Fine test/analysis equipment should be mandated.

• Continuous monitoring of cylinder scrape down oil for elevated levels of

ferrous debris

What can be done?

Costs relating to Cat Fines damage can be significant depending on a

wide range of factors.

If we consider a vessel fitted with a single 30,000bhp slow speed

diesel requiring the following repairs due to Cat Fines:

Replacement pistons, piston rings, cylinder liners, fuel pumps and

having cylinders heads and the turbo charger overhauled.

We are looking at a repair costs of somewhere in the region of

US$700,000 to US$1,000,000 – before any auxiliary engine damage

repairs.

If I have a Cat Fine problem, what could it cost me?

Until recently, the detection of Cat Fines was reliant on fuel samples

collected at the time of bunkering, being analysed at a Lab or

purchasing very expensive XRF for onboard analysis.

Is there an early detection system for identifying Cat Fines?

Alternatively, having detected high levels of mechanical wear as a result of bench

top equipment such at the Kittiwake FWM or the online system, LinerScan,

visual magnified inspection, will identify the problem, which most likely will be too

late!

25 μm

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Bunkers must be tested and results received and analysed BEFORE they are

consumed on board. This requires effective bunker management procedures.

A Ships crew now has the ability to test the bunker before they take receipt using

the Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit

Is there an early detection system for identifying Cat Fines?

Key benefits

• Low cost

• Simple to use

• Onboard usage

• No installation required

• Compact, lightweight and portable

• Rapid (20 mins)

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Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit – FG-K30566-KW

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Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit – FG-K30566-KW

Step by Step Guide

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Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit – FG-K30566-KW

Result Interpretation

50ppm 100ppm 200ppm

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Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit – FG-K30566-KW

For more information, go to: www.kittiwake.com

Email:kittiwakeinfo@parker.com