New Shipboard Fuel Blending Unit From IMO Pump Division

IMO® Pump Division, Monroe, N.C., Transamerica Delaval Inc., has developed a unit to blend heavy fuel oil with diesel oil in order to lower power costs of running ship service diesel generator sets and other auxiliary engines.

Normally, the use of blended fuel presents logistics problems and commands a premium bunkering fee. With the new Delaval unit, however, any vessel may blend its own fuels onboard and suit the blend to continuously varying combustion conditions.

The new fuel oil blending unit mixes streams of heavy fuel oil and marine diesel oil to produce a blend of desired viscosity. Signals from a full flow viscometer are fed back through solid state circuitry to control the flow of diesel oil, giving a blend which varies between minimum and maximum viscosity limits set by engine room personnel. Within operating limits, it is not necessary to know the viscosity of the fuels being blended. The system is temperature-compensated and fully automatic but feedback signals may be overridden in a manual operation mode. IMO threescrew pumps give the unit high reliability. An optional alarm is triggered if the unit operates improperly for more than 2-3 minutes.

The Delaval fuel oil blending unit can handle Bunker C or other heavy oil at 100-250°F and diesel oil at 50-120°F. Blends can range from 700 to 2500 SSU at blending temperature. The new IMO Division unit requires 460- volt, 60-Hz, 3-phase current. Power consumption is only 2 kw. The entire blending unit stands 70 inches tall, occupies 40 by 30 inches of deck space and weighs 750 pounds.

Bud Hawks, Transamerica Delaval spokesman, said that while the fuel oil blending unit was designed primarily for the marine market, he foresees adoption by shoreside industries wherever small and medium size stationary diesel engines are used.

For more information and free literature on the new IMO oil blending unit, Write 31 on Reader Service Card

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