A growing concern is associated to the greenhouse gases emissions of
superyachts, consequently alternative fuels are introduced to the
market.
For the yachting decarbonisation, this work focuses on hydrotreated
vegetable oil (HVO) and methanol. Nevertheless, the uncertain glob
...
A growing concern is associated to the greenhouse gases emissions of
superyachts, consequently alternative fuels are introduced to the
market.
For the yachting decarbonisation, this work focuses on hydrotreated
vegetable oil (HVO) and methanol. Nevertheless, the uncertain global
availability of these fuels can undermine the operations of
ocean-crossing superyachts. Thus, a multi-fuel system is installed
allowing for fuels switchover and built-in flexibility. Moreover,
non-dedicated tanks are installed for the alternative storage of HVO and
methanol to make optimal use of the tanks’ capacity. However, the
alternative storage of HVO and methanol causes mutual fuels’
contamination. The lack of standards and research on accepted fuels
impurity makes full fuels’ separation relevant to be explored. In this
work, to avoid degradation of dual-fuel engines or fuel cells,
gravity-settling tanks and disc-bowl centrifuges were studied to
separate HVO-methanol mixtures. Shake tests were conducted on
HVO-methanol mixtures to quantify the separation time and relative
concentrations to obtain complete gravity separation. The gravity tests
revealed methanol traces in HVO for all the tested mixtures within the 1
hour-3 days observation time, due to the low-density difference between
the fuels. This makes the use of gravity-settling tanks impractical
onboard for quasi-instantaneous fuels supply to the converters. A
mathematical model was developed for disc-bowl centrifuges to assess the
separator performance and separation time. Furthermore, the centrifuge
was sized by providing the separator working conditions for varying
engine modes. Moreover, spin tests were conducted to validate the
mathematical model. The model showed that full separation is achievable
with a larger centrifuge compared to existing designs. The larger design
is due to the low-density difference between the fuels. The maximum
separation time ranges from 5-10 minutes. Nevertheless, all the tested
mixtures with the spin tests failed at achieving a state of full
separation due to the dilution of a certain residual volume in the
continuous liquid. The discrepancy between the mathematical model and
the spin test results can lie in the neglected diluted phase of the
dispersed fuel in the continuous liquid in the mathematical model.
However, the mathematical model is a good tool to simulate the dynamic
behaviour of the dispersed droplets. Consequently, the onboard use of a
centrifuge for separating HVO-methanol mixtures should be evaluated by
quantifying the concentration of the fuels’ mixture entering the
separator tailored per yacht. Furthermore, tests on dual-fuel engines or
fuel cells are recommended to establish tolerable limits of fuel’s
contamination.@en