HEINZMANN and ABC taking forward marine propulsion with dual-fuel
Press Release (June, 2013)
Reducing operating costs and complying with emissions legislation are of key interest to marine carriers. Cost transparency and reliability are, too. The use of LNG (liquified natural gas) instead of diesel or heavy fuel oil can reduce fuel costs and also decrease emissions in compliance with current environmental requirements.
Sophisticated dual-fuel technologies allow the conversion of diesel engines to gas operation with a high diesel-to-gas conversion ratio and improved efficiency. Complemented by monitoring of fuel consumption and performance, this offers carriers a comprehensive solution for maintaining engine operation at its most efficient, ensuring a high level of availability and detecting damaging faults at an early stage.
There is a general trend towards the use of gas in mobile applications like ships. Using gas as the fuel enables the stipulated emissions limits to be met comfortably. However, installing gas tanks and handling refuelling in ports will be a major problem. It will certainly not be possible to refuel with gas at every port. For this reason, it is highly likely that dual fuel engines rather than pure gas engines will initially be widely used in shipping. Dual fuel essentially involves a diesel engine that can also be operated using gas. Diesel pilot injection is used for ignition. The main argument in favour of this kind of system is that the engine can still be operated with pure diesel if gas is not available.
Dual fuel engine for ships with direct propulsion
As an sophisticated solution for marine applications, engine manufacturer Anglo Belgian Corporation and system supplier HEINZMANN have been developing a special dual fuel engine for ships with direct propulsion. Both companies benefit from many years' experience with diesel engines in shipping. For this project, diesel engines optimised for dual fuel operation were used. These optimisations enable conversion rates of steady state 95 % to be achieved (95 % gas / 5 % diesel).