Fuel Oil | Bunker Fuel | Marine Gas Oil
What is Fuel Oil?
Fuel Oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, also known as marine fuel or furnace oil. Fuel Oil is also used in a stricter sense to refer to the heaviest commercial fuel that can only be obtained from crude oil, which is heavier than gasoline and naphtha.
While heavier petroleum products like diesel fuel and lube oil are much less volatile and distilled slower, Bunker Oil is literally the bottom of the barrel.
Oil has many uses; heats homes and businesses, and fuels trucks, ships, and some cars. Small amounts of electricity are produced using diesel, but it is more polluting and more expensive than natural gas. It is often used as backup fuel for power plants or as the main fuel for small electric generators in case the natural gas supply is interrupted.
Bunker Fuel technically refers to any fuel used in ships. It got its name from the expression of the fuel tanks found in ships and ports in those years when steam ships operated their machines using coal. It got its name from the coal tanks where the fuel was originally stored. High viscosity requires heating with a low pressure steam system, which is usually recirculated before the fuel is pumped from a bunker tank.
Since fuel costs constitute an important part of ship operating costs, both the performance of the ship’s engines and the high cost caused by potential malfunctions require compliance with the standards set for fuels.
The use of quality fuels determined by engine manufacturers according to engine specifications is of vital importance in terms of minimizing performance and breakdowns.
Marine engines produced with the latest technology can use cheaper low viscosity heavy fuels. In the past, the effects of bad fuels on machines became more important for the technical departments of maritime companies over time, and more attention was paid to the choice of fuel for ships.
When ordering fuel in the maritime sector, it has been understood that not only the viscosity value is sufficient, but also the other properties of the fuel, and therefore, it has been revealed that the most appropriate fuel for ships should be given maximum attention.
Since the 1980s, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been the accepted standard for marine fuels. The standard is listed under the number 8217 with the latest updates in 2010 and 2017. The Latest Version of the bunker fuel specification is ISO 8217: 2017. The standard separates fuels into residual and distillate fuels.
As of 1 January 2020, a rule known as IMO 2020 has introduced new emission standards for fuel used by ships. The global sulfur limit (excluding SECAs) has been reduced from 3.5% sulfur allowed in marine fuels to 0.5%.
In case you appoint Bunkerist, it will be our honor to offer the marine fuel you demand with the products of alternative alternative companies of your choice that have competitive, up-to-date, internationally accepted standards.
Articles That May Interest You
- MGO (Marine Gas Oil – roughly equivalent to the number 2 fuel oil.
- MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) – A heavy gasoline mixture that may contain very small amounts of black refinery feedstock, but with a low viscosity of up to 12 cSt, so it does not need to be heated for use in internal combustion engines.
- IFO (Intermediate fuel oil) A mixture of kerosene and heavy
- fuel oil with less kerosene than marine diesel oil
- HFO (Heavy fuel oil) – Pure or almost pure residual oil, roughly No. Equivalent to 6 fuel oil
- MFO (Marine fuel oil) – Another name for HFO
- Marine Diesel Oil contains some heavy fuel oil, unlike normal diesel.
CCAI and CII are two indices that define the ignition quality of fuel, and CCAI is often calculated especially for marine fuels. Despite this, marine fuels are still priced in the international fuel markets with their maximum viscosity, as marine engines are designed to use fuel with different viscosities.
The unit of viscosity used is centistotle (cSt) and the most frequently quoted fuels are listed below, in order of cost, with the cheapest being first.
- IFO 380 – intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of
- 380 centistokes (<3.5% sulfur)
- IFO 180 – intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of
- 180 centistokes (<3.5% sulfur)
- LS 380 – Low-sulfur (<1.0%) intermediate fuel oil with a
- maximum viscosity of 380 centistokes
- LS 180 – Low-sulfur (<1.0%) intermediate fuel oil with a
- maximum viscosity of 180 centistokes
- MDO – Marine Diesel Oil
- MGO – Marine Gas Oil
- LSMGO – Low Sulfur Marine Gas Oil (<0.1%
- ULSMGO – Ultra Low Sulfur Marine Gas Oil – (sulfur 0.0015% maximum).