Standards Development

Scope

This CEN standard is applicable to marine fuel separators. The standard describes a procedure for determination of the certified flow rate (CFR), a performance parameter for separators, at specific fuel oil viscosities, using a defined test oil and test procedure.

All values reported as CFR capacities are verified measured values on a defined CFR test bench. Scaling based on Stoke’s law and disc stack design is excluded from this standard.

Separation efficiency is determined by a defined particle counting method.

Note: Today, Certified Flow Rate is defined as the flow rate in L/h, at a certain time after sludge discharge, at which the separation efficiency of the separator is 85 %, using a specific test oil, test particle and test procedure.

Purpose

To achieve reliable and cost-effective operation of marine diesel engines, it is necessary to clean all residual fuel oils before injection into the engines. The leading cleaning method used on board ships today is centrifugal separation.

Engine builders, ship owners and classification societies require reliable performance criteria to be able to compare how one manufacturer’s centrifuge performs against that of another manufacturer with regard to the removal of hard abrasive particles such as catalytic fines from marine residual fuels. If unchecked, these catalytic fines can endanger ship safety by causing engine wear and damage.

The earlier separator performance standard, CWA 15375, has expired. Presently, there is no valid European or international standard procedure to measure and certify particle separation performance of marine fuel separators.

A performance standard will provide guidance to buyers (ship yards) and users (ship owners) for selection of the correct separator type for a required flow rate and to support a fair competition between suppliers of marine fuel separators.

For this reason, this NWIP is supported by major stakeholders within the marine and energy sector.