Marine Engines: Fuel Oil Systems

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Fuel oil Systems;
Marine Engines are mainly designed to run on Low cost fuel such as Diesel Oil or Heavy Fuel Oil which contains high dense particles, waste residue and other contaminants.
These waste materials should not be pumped into the engine directly as they will damage the engine and decrease the efficiency. So, first these materials have to be separated from the fuel oil and then the purified oil can be supplied to the engine for better performance. So, this plays a very important role in the efficient functioning of the ship.
Generally for a cargo ship, the following components are essential to operate a Marine engine running on Heavy fuel oil or Diesel oil.
They are:
1. Storage tank
2. Settling tank
3. Heating Equipment
4. Heavy Fuel Oil Pumps
5. Filters and Centrifugal purification systems
6. Viscosity and flow regulator
7. Temperature and Pressure control systems
8. Supply tanks
9. Fuel injector
First, the loaded fuel is stored in the storage tank which is mostly situated in the Double bottom of the ship’s hull. If the double bottom is not sufficient, then a separate tank may be provided for the storage of the fuel. This fuel is then pumped to a settling tank which will allow the heavier contaminants to settle down and they are drained out. Simultaneously, the fuel is heated to decrease the viscosity and ease the flow through pumps. The fuel oil which is thus free from solid waste and less viscous is then pumped through filters. Then it is processed using centrifuge to get the pure fuel which can now be used to feed into the main engine. The processed fuel is sent through Viscosity and Flow regulator and also Temperature and Pressure control system to attain required pressure, temperature and viscosity for the engi...

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...essel. In case of engine room of a ship, some ships have automatic flooding systems which will prevent the fire from spreading to other compartments provided the machinery components are water resistive so that they can be operated after de-flooding. Also there are mechanisms which cut down the power supply to different auxiliary machinery in the problematic region to prevent electrical shock. It also helps to stop the fire if the fire is caused due to electrical circuit problems.
All these are required to be placed inside the engine room to prevent major emergencies from happening and also to cease the fire if it happens.
The following pictures show the smoke detectors, spray head for sprinkling water, fire pump. CO2 pump and fire extinguishers

Works Cited

http://www.machineryspaces.com/fuel-oil-system.html
http://swoods3201.hubpages.com/hub/shipboard_systems

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