Fuel Oil Compatibility Testing helps with the Mixing / Blending of Residual Fuel Oils

With the growing use of low sulphur fuels and increased frequency of bunkering, testing the stability of the fuel oil and its compatibility for blending is becoming increasingly important.

Whilst every fuel oil is manufactured to be stable - in that it does not have the tendency to produce asphaltenic sludge - two stable fuel oils are not necessarily compatible when blended or mixed together. A blend is regarded as being stable only if it is homogeneous immediately after preparation, remains so in normal storage and at no time produces or tends to produce sludge on a significant scale. If behaving in this way, the fuels forming the blend can be considered as compatible with each other. Incompatibility is the tendency of a residual fuel oil to produce a deposit on dilution or on blending with other fuel oils and typical incompatibility problems include sludging and blockage of bunker and service tanks, pipe runs, filters and centrifuge bowls. In extreme circumstances the only remedy is manual removal of the sludge build up, which is both time-consuming and extremely costly.

Onboard fuel oil compatibility testing is extremely simple and can take just 20 minutes, providing engineers with information that can confirm that the fuel oil delivery will remain stable in the bunker tanks or identify possible stability problems before blending and mixing two fuel oils. Compatibility fuel oil testing can prevent sludge deposits, eliminate failure of fuel oil handling systems and reduce costly combustion related engine problems.

Click to view the Info Centre articles on Compatibility

Kittiwake Compatibility Products

• Compatibility Tester - The Kittiwake Oil Compatibility Tester is possibly the most useful and underrated tool available for testing fuel oils.  This kit provides a quick and extremely useful tool for engineers faced with the necessity to mix or blend residual fuel oils.