NYK Jointly Develops Environmentally Friendly Water Emulsion Fuel-Combustion Equipment-Aiming for Commercial Distribution in 2006
September 8, 2005
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and its subsidiary the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) in conjunction with Nihon Rikagaku Co. Ltd. (Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture; President: Taishi Kurata), Daitoh Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture; President: Tetsuro Takemura), and Sunflame Co. Ltd. (Uji, Kyoto Prefecture; President: Yasuo Tanaka) have developed water-emulsion fuel-combustion equipment* (patent pending) for the purpose of reducing marine-boiler fuel consumption and CO2 and NOx emissions.
Water-emulsion fuel is a fuel compound composed of a mixture of water and heavy oil. The combustibility of heavy oil in water is higher compared to when heavy oil is burned on its own. Since October 19, 2004, NYK has had this equipment installed on the company's coal carriers on a trial basis and has confirmed an average reduction in fuel consumption of approximately 8.5 percent and a maximum reduction of 15.6 percent.
Although water-emulsion fuel formerly required an emulsifier, one of the most important features of this new equipment is that the water-emulsion compound is produced without the use of emulsifiers, allowing for costs to be reduced. In addition, the equipment is compact in size and works with the existing burner. Therefore, the equipment can be installed on ships that are currently in operation. The ability of the new equipment to work with the existing burner gives the company confidence that this equipment can be installed on a large number of ships.
NYK continues to carry out onboard tests and strives to further enhance efficiency and reliability, aiming to make the equipment available for commercial distribution within 2006.
* Water-Emulsion Fuel-Combustion Equipment
When water-emulsion fuel is sprayed into the inside of a boiler operating at a high temperature, the water component of the fuel combusts in a fine explosion because of the sudden temperature rise, which then separates the oil surrounding the water drops into minute particles and diffuses them. As a result, the surface area of combustible air increases considerably, which leads to more efficient fuel combustion.
Emulsion-Combustion Equipment for Experiment Tests
| Evaporation amount of boiler | 1600kg/hr |
|---|---|
| Evaporating pressure | 0.588MPa |
| Model of burner | SDR-1.5(SUNFLAME CO.,LTD.) |
| Fuel | 380cSt class C heavy oil + onboard water; miscellaneous use |
| Dimension of equipment body | 1800 mm(approximate width) 1300 mm(approximate length) 1200 mm(approximate height) |
