1. Spotlight on Marine Fuel Issues
An overview
Sophia Themelarou
Lloyd’s Register, Fuel Oil Bunker Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS)
ELINA PROJECT – 5th FORUM, APRIL 25TH 2014

2. Overview 1. Fuel quality 2. Future development Marine fuel grades
Practice of blending
Sludge generation
1. Fuel quality
Regulatory framework
Shipping industry response
2. Future development

3. PART 1 Fuel Quality

4. Introduction
Bunker fuel is NOT a uniform product or product stream in itself
Various streams of heavy residues and lighter cutter stocks are used to make the final blend
Product in bunker tanks on board the ship is the result of optimization between production costs and compliance with specifications
Composition of fuel delivered to ships has changed over the last few decades
Rising costs and fluctuations in feedstock quality as well as optimized refining techniques make fuels more complex in nature

5. Marine Fuel Oils Residual fuel oils Blended from: Atmospheric residues
Vacuum residues
Visbroken residue
Process residues+ distillate
Distillates
Blends usually for DMB/ DMC grades only
- FAME?
Grades (ISO 8217:2010):
RMA10, RMB30, RMD80
RME180
RMG180, RMG380, RMG500
RMG700, RMK380, RMK500, RMK700
Grades (ISO 8217:2010): DMX, DMA, DMZ and DMB

6. Changing Landscape of Blending
Increasing demand for LSFO products
High crude prices
Increasing demand for light distillate products e.g. gasoline and diesel
More resources dedicated to sophisticated refinery processes that enable high yield fractions
Residue and lighter cutter stocks changing

7. Main target blend specification
Producing an acceptable fuel:
Viscosity (initially) - Reflected in product names and classification (relates to ship’s ability to effectively pre-heat fuel prior to consumption)
Superseded by density as refining techniques became more sophisticated
Remaining parameters include limits specified in ISO 8217
Blending is now mostly about producing an acceptable fuel whilst meeting sulphur requirements.
Impact of environmental regulations
Increasing demand for LSFO products
Superseded by density as refining techniques became more sophisticated.

8. From Fuel Compatibility to Stability
Unit sheets
Asphaltene stacks
Start of agglomerate
formation
Asphaltene deposits

9. Two-Component Model (Shell, 1952)
Fuel oil system consists of two pseudo components:
Asphaltenes : largest, most polar molecules with a tendency to form a separate phase Assigned value: FR max (insolubility number)
Maltenes : the rest of the solution which acts as a solvent for the asphaltenes Assigned value: Po (solubility number)
 Fuel is stable as long as Po > FR max (or Po/FR max >1)

10. Fuel Quality Key Issues

11. Is sludge generation a problem?
26% of the total investigation cases of FOBAS (2013) were sludge/ filter clogging based

12. PART 2 Future development

13. Emissions regulations drivers
SOX
NOX
CO2
Particulate Matter

14. Marine Exhaust Emission Controls
IMO MARPOL Annex VI
Adopted by MARPOL Conference in 1997 – in effect from May 2005
Substantially revised 2008 – in effect from July 2010
Currently 75 signatory States
Revisions and interpretations resulting from IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meetings – latest April 2014
National / Local Controls
EU Sulphur Directive – 0.10% m/m S cap for vessels ‘at berth’ within EU ports
Regulated California Waters
-DMA or DMB 0.1% m/m S for 24 nm off the coast of California
Other national / local regulations or ‘voluntary’ schemes

15. Sulphur Emissions Regulatory Framework

16. Current Emission Control Areas (ECA-SOx)

17. Reducing Emissions ~ The Refineries Perspective
Will deliver distillate demand with current production methods
Up to 2015
<0.10% S – Coking refinery techniques for more distillates: not a cheap option
2015 and after
Predicted to be more costly than HSFO but less than MGO
2020/25 S<0.50% m/m
Currently shipping is a wide residual fuel market - low value by product- but significant investment required to deliver <0.50 & <0.10% S fuel – 2015/20
Will abatement technologies or Alt – fuels ease demand on refineries?
Will emissions technology evolve resulting in more stranded refinery investment risk?

18. Alternative Fuels? Petroleum (today) 2. Alternatives (Next 10 years)
Residual Marine fuel oils (RFO)
Distillate Marine fuel oils (MGO)
2. Alternatives
(Next 10 years)
LNG,
RFO/MDO + EGCS
LPG / CNG / Hydrogen
Methanol /DME
Bio-Diesel FAME
HFO Emulsions MSAR
3.Alternatives
(5-30 years)
Bio-Fuels /Gas – 2nd / 3rd Generation Synthetics
Coal
Glycerol
Wood Chip
Nuclear
4.Natural energy sources (hybrids+)
wind
solar
Wave
Any Others ?