SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGYbe taken based on observations. Aswear is generally low, actions to addressdeposit build-up should bethe priority.Another widely discussed fuel, methanol,has been used as fuel in anumber of vessels, that were partly lubricatedwith Chevron products.Regular scrapedown oil analysis usingChevron’s DOT.FAST service and frequentin-situ liner measurements wereused to monitor cylinder condition. Cylindersreportedly appear much cleaner whenburning methanol than conventional liquid fuels.Engine makers’ approachesEngine maker MAN Energy Solutions already hastwo-stroke marine engines operating on LNG,methanol, ethane and LPG. According the company’s researchdepartment, lubrication requirements remain consistent acrossthese fuels. »In all cases [except the forthcoming low-pressureME-GA dual-fuel LNG engine] our engines use the Diesel process,so the concept of what is needed from the lubricant is similar.For all low-sulphur fuels the recommendations are essentiallythe same as for 0.10 % and <0.50 % sulphur fuels,« an MAN spokespersonis cited.MAN ES also recommends cermet piston ring coating for allengines running on low-sulphur fuels, in order to increase themargin against damage to the piston rings and cylinder liners.Svensson also notes that lubrication recommendations canchange as MAN ES learns more about how engines operate withthese new fuels, and as engines get updated.MAN ES also notes the distinction between fuels currently inuse and another future fuel candidate — ammonia. An ammoniaengine is under development and is expected to be available commerciallyby 2024. It is too early to describe cylinder conditionconcept or lubrication requirements for this new engine type.Engine developer WinGD designs two-stroke engines that includea low-pressure, Otto-cycle dual-fuel engine capable of runningon LNG and fuel oil. This engine concept in particular offersthe potential for future fuel flexibility, although its Diesel-processengines will also be candidates for running on liquid future fuels.According to WinGD, the current tribology concept works forboth liquid and gaseous fuels. However, detailed lubricantrequirements cannot be confirmed until more testing of futurefuels have been carried out.Reducing the potential for formingdeposits will be crucial inthe futureThis can have an impact on cylindercleanliness if the lubricant is not sufficientlyresistant to higher temperatures.For future cylinder oils, increasingthermal stability and reducingthe potential for forming depositsin cylinders will be crucial.The Otto-cycle concept of compressinga fuel-air mix and then ignitingit — as opposed to the Diesel processof igniting fuel as it is injected — means© Chevronthat lower deposits are even more important.»Because you are igniting a mix with a pilot fuel,any other sort of ignition will also ignite themixture — say a glowing piece of deposit on thepiston crown. This means you can get uncontrolledcombustion. The calcium carbonate ormetals in general from cylinder oil additives willnot help you at all. So, we believe that lower ashproducts are required«, a Chevron expert states.Lower ash products will be needed not just for low-pressure Ottoengines, but for future low-pressure engine designs using otherfuels. There will also be a need among engines using exhaust gasafter-treatment such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and particulatefilters to lower emissions such as Nox and particulatematter, respectively. After-treatment is likely to become a more importantelement of many marine engines — whether to remove sulphur,to lower NOx (selective catalytic reduction or exhaust gas recirculation),to reduce methane slip or to minimise particulateemissions (diesel particulate filters) in line with potential futureregulation.The presence of after-treatment in the post-combustion chainmeans that engines will have to work harder to expel exhaust,which could lead to less complete scavenging. This means morecombustion by-products would likely remain in the engine cylinder.If those by-products include ash from the metallic elementsin lubricants, this could lead to more deposits in the cylinder.Even if ash deposits are not problematic in the cylinder, the foulingthat ash can cause along the post-combustion chain meansthat it should be minimised, especially where after-treatment isdeployed. (The Whitepaper can be downloaded fromhttps://www.chevronmarineproducts.com/)RDNew engines adding complexityNew fuel types might have different combustion concepts as wellas different fuel properties and different combustion byproducts.The impact of new fuels is just one element of futurecylinder condition. Arguably more important is the impact of engineadvances to further increase fuel efficiency.Fuel efficiency will help ship operators minimise emissionsuntil lower-carbon fuels are widely available. And once runningon those fuels, which could come at a significant premium comparedto today’s fuels, efficient engines will help to keep costsmanageable. The major avenue for increasing fuel efficiency intwo-stroke engines is through increasing combustion pressure.• Drahtseile • Tauwerk • Festmacher• CASAR Bordkranseile • Anschlagmittel• Prüflasttest bis 1.000 t• Segelmacherei • Taklerei • MontageWalter Hering KGPorgesring 2522113 HamburgTelefon: 040 – 73 61 72 -0eMail: info@seil-hering.dewww.seil-hering.deHANSA – International Maritime Journal 08 | 202267
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY»We create a digital twin of the fuel«How will a certain batch of fuel perform in your engine and what will be the emissions?Questions like these are becoming increasingly important in a multi-fuel environment withtightening emissions regulation. Fueltrust wants to answers themHow did you get started and what doesFueltrust offer to the market?Darren Shelton: We began looking atblockchain as a technology a couple ofyears ago, because some of the industrymajors would start to use it for their posttrade finance settlements. That led tolooking at an application around IMO2020 for ship owner compliance.Jonathan Arneault: We approached thisnot as a technology project but as solvingthree of the biggest problems, we saw inmaritime that coalesced: digitization ofdocuments and ensuring compliance.Then we realized that all concentratedaround what was going on in the fuel. So,we took a fundamentally different approachin trying to solve these things, lookingat it from the fuel first and how it impactsanti-fraud, ensuring volume deliveriesand what is actually being emitted.By following the fuel, its transactionalinformation and – more importantly – itschemical information. That’s how we areable to provide all these parties a significantinsight into what is happeningand to enable differentiation. Bunkers, becauseit is residual fuel, vary widely. Theyare the very last part of the refining process.That is why you need a certificate ofanalysis on that fuel to make sure it is safeto use in your ship and meets compliance.Likewise, buying residual fuels and blendingthem leaves gaps in knowledge aboutwhat is in that feedstock. We look at theenergy supply chain for maritime andlook at how it flows and build the logic inthe blockchain and the privacy and securityof the transactional information thatenergy producers, energy suppliers andfleet consumers can sign on to.How does the actual tracking of the fueland of its quality work?Arneault: The secret sauce is our DigitalChemist. We are taking the ISO certifiedlab information and create a digital twin ofthe fuel, down to molecular level. We aremonitoring and predicting every step in itslifecycle. We can actually say: This fuel willdo that when it goes trough your engine atx rpm, x temperature or x load. We can tellDarren Shelton, Chief Product Officer andCo-Founder of Fueltrustyou the behavioral patterns, the sedimentsand what will be the output in your engine:thermal output in BTU, emissions – carbon,NOx, SOx, even carbon particulates.We are able to tell all that based on the fuelas opposed to machinery or sensors – andwe can tell you before you buy it.Where do you get the data from? Do usershave to upload or enter it?Shelton: Manual entry is hopefully notneeded. In the perfect world, the data thatis being produced by our customers ortheir labs and is digitally input via API. Wehave used OCR and AI technology to readtypical documents, but – ideally – theydon’t have to manually input anything.Jonathan: We have a UI that allows anon-digitized player to take a picture of abunker delivery note or fuel receipt withhis phone and send it in a secure emailinto the system. Our AI reads it, makessense of the handwriting and digitizes it.We also built our system to be headless.Customers can either directly interfacewith us with their API, or they can directlyinterface via blockchain and not useour user interface.Are alternative fuels also being covered?Shelton: We are running two proofs ofconcept right now: one on decarbonizationefforts for a huge fleet of engines,the other on biofuels. This is still a learningprocess for us as well. It is not only© FueltrustJonathan Arneault, Chief Executive Officer andCo-Founder of Fueltrustabout fuel prices. We are doing analyseson biofuel to see how they react withtraditional engines, what is the btu outputand emissions output versus the cost.Arneault: With our Carbon Baseline applicationwe can even go back in time, allthe to 2009 – if you have the documentationlike transactional informationfrom fuel purchases and engine maintenancelogs. We can do what we do in realtime today on your engine’s performanceand emissions and can tell you exactlywhat your serial numbered engine producedyear by year.Shelton: Looking at a biofuel versusVLSFO or MGO, for example, we can saythat your carbon output is this much lower,so the carbon credit will actually offset thecost. We are looking at how the fleet canmake greener decisions that are price differentiated.We are not a carbon tradingplatform, but we produce certificates thatyou can take to the market outside.So, besides energy majors, fuel suppliersand shipowners, you are also targetingthe cargo owners’ side?Arneault: We don’t have it yet, but we willhave a product that will produce a reportfor the actual cargo shipper that says thata certain ship had a green voyage. Thatwill also allow the shipper to break downtheir actual carbon amount for thevoyage port to port.Interview: Felix Selzer© Fueltrust68 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 08 | 2022
