Oil Treatment
Cat Fines Removal
Catalyst fines – cat fines for short – remain in marine fuels during refining, as a part of the mandatory cracking practice and the aim of reducing sulfur levels to ecological standards. Unfortunately, cat fines are highly abrasive and difficult to remove from on-board fuel even with diligent cleaning and purification procedures. Embedding in engine parts, they cause wear and destruction. Growing uncertainty lies in the fact that ship owners, operators and crews never know in advance the acute threat from cat fines. Because of economic pressure on suppliers, insufficient standards and varying on-board conditions uncontrollable fluctuations occur in fuel quality and cat fine concentration. Even fuel that has been tested for safe cat fine levels can become re-contaminated on-board with residual cat fines from tank bottoms.
