These ‘cat fines’ are extremely hard and wear away the inside of a ship’s engine, increasing the risk of breakdown at sea. The most problematic of these impurities are tiny fragments of the catalysts used in the refining process, and which are left behind in the fuel oil. “It’s just one step above the bitumen used to surface roads,” says Mike Coomber, Executive Chairman of Rivertrace. This oil is the lowest grade of fuel produced in oil refining, and is loaded with impurities. The challenge that Rivertrace set Dr Frederic Cegla of the Department of Mechanical Engineering was to find an effective, economic method of measuring the quality of the heavy fuel oil used in cargo ships and other large vessels. The research and development was carried out under the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme, which funds talented graduates and postgraduates while they work on innovation challenges set by companies. A viscosity meter developed in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Imperial and Rivertrace will help make shipping cleaner and more efficient.Īn innovative device for measuring the viscosity of the fuel oil used in ship engines has been developed and commercialised thanks to a collaboration between Imperial and Rivertrace, a company specialising in instruments for the maritime industries.
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