Marine Applications |
 In 2006, Innov-X entered into a partnership with the world's largest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk. Our role was to develop high performance, vessel-based XRF analyzers for oils, fuels and additives. This effort resulted in the SEA-Mate™ family of XRF analyzers. What made these products unique was the combination of high performance analysis, field portablity and ease of use for non-technical operators.Critical functions include the ability to analyze lubricants and fuels for the presence of wear metals, sulfur content and elemental contaminants within minutes. A large number of systems have since been deployed on vessels and at land-based power systems for extensive field testing & return on investment (ROI) validation. |
| NEW! We are pleased to announce the global after-sales & service organization MAN Diesel | PrimeServ has joined with Maersk as a marketing partner for the SEA-Mate™ and on-board blending application for the marine market segment. |
| Wear Metals in Oil & Sulfur in Fuel |
| For nearly two dozen vessels during a two-year period, oil, additive & fuel samples were analyzed, generally on a daily basis, to demonstrate the ability to prevent engine or component failure by monitoring the trend in specific wear metals. By analyzing regular scrape down oil samples and looking for elevated concentrations of certain elements like iron, nickel, copper, chromium, lead and other elements, vessel operators can usually determine abnormal wear and replace components before a catastrophic failure occurs. Sulfur content was also monitored due to increasing regulations requiring that vesels burn lower-content sulfur in many locations. |
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The Sine Maersk, pictured above, uses a SEA-Mate™ Gen 2 analyzer for on-board monitoring of wear |
| "We are able to monitor the iron content in scrape down samples from the main engine within minutes and from these results we have the capabilities to judge the condition of the cylinders while the engine is running." -- Chief Engineer Claus K. Thomsen, onboard Sine Maersk |
| Fuel Quality for Catalytic Fines (catfines) |
The testing program also evaluated the ability to measure aluminum and silicon content (catfines) content in fuels. Regulations are increasingly requiring the use of lower sulfur fuels in many regions of the world. The refining process to create lower sulfur content in marine fuels often leads to higher concentrations of catalytic materials n the form of aluminum and silicon in the fuel. These catalytic fine particles -catfines- migrate into the engine lubricant, causing excessive cylinder wear and early or catastrophic destruction of a cycliner liner. In the marine shipping industry, for example, catfines content in excess of 50 ppm can destroy an engine liner in a matter of hours or days. Engine makers typically specify that catfines content in fuel be less than 10 ppm. The SEA-Mate™ analysis requires about 5 minutes, and may be used at time of fuel bunkering to check catfines content and possibly avoid a costly and time-consuming debunkering. Also, the analysis may be used after processing marine fuel with existing on-board centrifuges to verify catfine content is below recommended limits. |
| "The SEA-Mate™ is a fantastic investment. It optimizes maintenance through onboard accurate, low cost scavenger lube analysis. It also permits instant, zero cost analysis of bunkers which, if undertaken during delivery, avoids ever accepting substandard fuels again. No doubt ship owners will rapidly appreciated this innovative tool." --Robin Meech, marine technology expert, quoted in Maersk Post, March 2007 |
