Heavy Fuel oil turbines?

Anyone know at what stage the investigation of heavy fuel oil turbines is, and what "heavy" means in this context?

A couple of years back I advised on a viscometer for the heavy fuel oil heater control for a high speed ferry that was going to switch to IF30 (30cSt at 50[deg]C) for its turbines. Why? because it would save $5,000 a day in fuel costs. I don't know the outcome of this nor what is the current state of development so if anyone knows, please let me know.

Also, what are the likely problems, in your experience.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

Heavy fuel oil has no real definition. I have used residual fuel oils which you can bang on the table at (European) ambient temperatures. These had to be heated to 75°C before atomisation in a gas turbine fuel nozzle. Some are a little lighter, like bunker C. Most of these fuels needed water-washing and then electrostatic or centrifugal separation to remove the sodium content.

The metals in heavy fuels cause corrosion in the hot section of the gas turbine. Vanadium and other heavy metals are liquid at the operating temperatures. Very small pieces of the molten metal deposit theirselves on the hot section and start galvanic corrosion. There is no need for water in this type of corrosion.

A fuel additive binds vanadium into some kind of a solid at gas turbine operating temperatures. Turbotech or something is the vendor.

Once you choose an additive you have to be careful. Heavy oils from different oil fields have different amounts of vanadium.

It is usually the parrafin that makes heavy fuels turn solid. If your heavy fuel has alot of parrafin be careful with turbine trips. Will you have to dismantle and clean wax out of pipes and parts to restart? Can piping be flushed or kept heated?

A refinery that uses oils from the same fields usually produces the same heavy fuels. hopefully you can get a consistant source.



I like turbines