| Home | About Us | Media Room | Demonstration Projects | Project Partners | Resources | Green Marine | Contact Us |
Water in Fuel Emulsification (WiFE)
For decades it has been a well known fact that water in fuel emulsification is an effective method to improve the combustion in diesel engines and reduce emissions and is indisputably superior to water injection methods. With WiFE the water-fuel mixture is injected directly into the combustion space where it is needed, as opposed to water injection methods where water is injected into the scavenge and still has to be mixed into the atomized fuel.
WiFE is much more effective than water injection in reducing emissions. NOx emissions are reduced by 1% for each 1% that is emulsified, and thus at 30% water in fuel emulsification NOx is reduced by 30% and PM is reduced by 60-90%. The reduction potential of CO is largely dependent upon the design and condition of the engine itself. At higher emulsion rates the fuel pump on the diesel engines starts to lack capacity, but emulsion rates at up to 50% have been successfully tested. The fuel pump rack goes to maximum which normally is at 110% fuel index, so at an engine load at 85%, which is the average load during a sea passage, the fuel pump rack will be at maximum at an emulsion rate of 25%.
The emulsifier is extremely robust and does not require distilled water to run. In fact, one of the main features of the emulsifier is that the water quality is not important; water will invariably be emulsified and homogenized into the fuel and the long carbon chains and asphaltenes will be ripped apart in the sheer force pump, which is the actual function of the emulsifier. That means all elements that pass through the emulsifier are torn apart into micro particles having a size not more than 5 microns and the water and fuel are 100% emulsified, the oxygen molecule in the water being as close as possible to the hydrocarbons in the fuel oil. Moreover, the long carbon chains that often are a byproduct of extensive refining of the fuel oil are completely torn into micro particles and burn much more efficiently.
The water used in the emulsifier can easily be waste water from on board and even waste liquid products both burnable and non burnable (water), which makes the system extremely durable. Thus, the result is both a considerable reduction in diesel emissions from the engines, as well as eliminating the need for effluent discharge from the ship. Reduced emissions reduce deposits in the exhaust valves, turbocharger exhaust gas side and economizer. In addition, up to about 100% increase in the overhaul interval can be expected.
It can be concluded that the preferred method of combustion improvement is by water in fuel emulsification, because water is safely emulsified and homogenized into the fuel oil and the oxygen is readily available for the combustion as apposed to water injection through the scavenge air where it has to be mixed into the atomized fuel oil. Also, the WiFE method does not require distilled water at constant pressure and flow rate to function, and in cases of malfunction WiFE will not have any detrimental damaging effect on the key components of the engine.
> The History of Water in Fuel Emulsion
> How is WiFE Different from Water Injection?
> Water Injection: Water Injected In the Scavenge Air (Humid Air Motor)
> back to solutions
1355 Ambleside Lane, West Vancouver, BC Canada V7T 2Y9, l-604-925-8330