THE NAIVE SAILOR, PURIFIERS AND CLARIFIERS -- CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

CHOKED HEAVY OIL MICRON FILTERS OF MAIN ENGINES.

These are true emails sent by me to my company. 


Read , glean from it and be safe!


Purifiers cannot prevent 5 micron HO filters from getting choked.  Such fine filters require a homogeniser, fitted before the filter. 

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A05948  Mon, 18 Jan XXX 22:45

From: XXXX - Master

Date: Monday, January 18, XXX 8:53 PM Msg: A05948-106328

Path: \ XXX - Master\SentBox \Delivery Notification

Sub : XXX/ Fw: Gard AS - Case study No 14 for on board safety meetings: Bad bunkers

Attach: centrifuging ho.txt

dear XXX,

AAA) it is obvious that the ship in GARD'S circular has a PURIFIER water carry over problem -- i will come back to this simple problem later --

as this is just sheer incompetence. the foolish GARD circular does NOT even care if the water in the service tank is fresh water or salt water.

BBB )POLYMER STRANDS WHICH CHOKE HO FILTERS :

1) when i was in XXX my ship XXX had 5 MICRON HO filters after the purifier . since these ships were fitted with omega fire ( pulveriser/ homogeniser ) , and a automatic back flush filter WHICH COULD BE BYPASSED -- we never has a problem with engine failures.

2) but before that i was on XXX with 10 MICRON HO filters after the purifier. this ship did NOT have a homogeniser and the automatic back flush bolfilter could NOT be bypassed. only myself and chief engineer knew the sleepless nights we spent, with heavy volume back flush happening 40 times a day and NOT knowing what to do with this reject oil . 

everybody incl the fuel lab gave free nonsense advise --KEEP PURIFYING RIGOUROUSLY--

the attachment talks why polymer strands which chokes the fine micron filter cannot be purified -- it tells very clearly ( only to people who  can understand physics ) why our shipboard purifiers, whether operated

in series or parallel , are NOT equipped to remove modern self inflicted light contaminants.

CCC) i have even come across purifiers rotating reverse -- just because the motor leads were connected back wrong after an overhaul. i have seen very few ships stencilling the gravity disc number 74/75/76 etc on the purifier. SG of HO keep changing in every port.

DDD) fresh water leak from purifier (in purifier MODE) into SERVICE tank can happen in many ways--it need NOT be the small size of gravity disc. it could be the sealing water solenoid valve, or clogged heavy liquid outlet, or low rpm of purifier ( check amperage ), or slipping friction clutch etc etc.

EEE) lately everybody incl labs talks about purifier mode and CLARIFIER mode etc , without understanding it. clarifiers separate ONLY HEAVY SOLIDS from oil . there is no sealing water used-- only centrifuge. they don't need a gravity disc.

in purifier mode BOTH solids and water is separated--at the cone disc there is oil/water interface. the water layer MUST be maintained by the correct ID  size gravity disc to prevent it from emptying. oil water

balance p1H1=p2H2

FFF) sometimes when HO SG is too high ( too close to water ) magnesium sulphate seal is better than fresh water seal. 

GGG) i joined a XXX ship about 11 years ago-- every port same sad story -- chief engineer and part would be busy changing piston rings hush hush , with connivance of tech superintendent ( nothing on paper ) . they became so good -- it hardly took any time for them.

the situation was so bad that they would do it only if the pieces were found in the scavenge spaces. otherwise the two inch broken rings (in position inside the groove ) was doing the job. and this had been happening for at least 9 months.  all were doing CURE nobody had the imagination to prevent.

i shot off a terse message on the first day itself to tech dept about water carry over , even before my usual TAKEN OVER COMMAND email -- and that upset everybody in office -- 

WITHIN ONE WEEK I HAS ESTABLISHED THAT THE HO FLOW METER WAS SHOWING GROSS OIL + WATER ( NOT NET OIL ) AND CHIEF ENGINEER HAD TERRIFIC EXCESS OF BUNKERS -- WHICH HE WAS HIDING ALL OVER THE PLACE, UNDECLARED , BOOSTING SHIPS CONSTANT TO RIDICULOUS LIMITS.  

he was fooling the bunker on/ of hire surveyors by listing the ship with chief officers help -- by the time he went from port to stbd!

the culprit was purifier water carry over which shattered the piston rings.  no piston rings broke after i joined -- i was there for a good 6 months.

HHH) how do you get SALT water in settling tanks from Singapore bunkers?. the barge will deliberately give you 20 tons less. when chief engineer cries foul -- they will come to a compromise after a melodramatic drama -- "OK-- we will give you 10 tons more " -- this 10 tons will be pure salt water -- ( the con-man's original trick , when you gain peanuts , you are off guard )

III) in an other email i had talked about bunker CAPUCCINO effect-- so i will not repeat it.

MEETING ETC-- CHIEF ENGINEER WILL DO WITH PEOPLE WHO MATTER-- WHEN THEY HAVE BREATHING SPACE.

thanks and best regards

capt ajit vadakayil

master

XXX

" re-inventing team dynamics-- where all use their thoughts rather than allowing their chattering thoughts to use them "

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From: XXX

Date: Mon, 18 Jan XXX 11:03 +0000 Msg: AMOS-220033331

Subject: Gard AS - Case study No 14 for on board safety meetings: Bad bunkers

To: All Ships

Cc: HSQE

Cc: XXX

Dear Masters and Chief Engineers,

Depending on the current status of the voyage (only if out at sea and not involved with loading/discharging/tank cleaning) - please call a meeting with all deck officers and engineers, involve the Bosun and engine cadets / crew as we need some feedback from them as well.

Once we have the feedback from you all, we will make out a Risk Assessment on BAD BUNKERS and include in our AMOS-2 library asap.

Best Regards,

XXX

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Dear XXX,

in XXX they pay 40 dollars per ton of HO sludge---

everybody wants sludge from ship --

last time in XXX they refused to take gasoline slops unless we also gave them some HO sludge.

why? -- pray?

SLUDGE IS RECYCLED AND IT COMES BACK ON BOARD AS 380 CST HO , AFTER A CHEMICAL PROCESS WHICH INCLUDES ADDITION OF SOME VERY CHEAP SOLVENTS -- WHICH PRODUCES LIGHT SYNTHETIC FILAMENTS --

we are lucky we use 180 CST for past 5.5 years -- it does NOT choke our 10 micron filters.

and even today XXX does NOT realise -- that on board purification removes only the heavy items --

this is like saying-- " remove only the heavy items in the adulterated rice like stones which can be detected by teeth crunch and pain -- light items ( which cause more harm to health ) like e coli and soft worms --

let it remain there --

what is a purifier -- just a cleaner with separate outlets for "so called clean oil" and water. using g force and flow for the parallelogram sides .

what is a clarifier-- just a safety net , oil polisher--making good use of settling velocity

i will be putting the gravity disc size in my master's handing over report-- it is 71.5 for 180 cst HO --

at XXX shipyard in XXX when the japs were giving lecture about the purifier on XX -- i asked " what is the size of the gravity disc ? "

--  nobody knew --

brgds

capt. ajit vadakayil

MASTER 

M.T. XXXX

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A12581  Mon, 6 Aug XXX 10:26

From: XXXX - MASTER

Date: Monday, August 06, XXX 9:45 AM Msg: A12581-15480

Path: \MASTER\SentBox

Sub : Re: TECH -- ME Safety filter

SOME THEORY FOR ENGINEERS WHO WRONGLY BELIEVE THAT RIGOROUS AND CONTINIOUS PURIFICATION CAN REMOVE POLYMER STRANDS,

ROGUE POLYMER STRAND : a polymer strand of smallest size 35 microns which escapes centrifuging because its density is only around 650 kg/ m3 while the 380 cst HO is 990 kg/ m3-- asphaltenes and the polymers agglomerates into a sticky gooey ,due to static charges inherited while centrifuging --

Centrifugal force is directly proportional to the radius and to the mass, but it is also proportional to the square of the angular velocity.

For example, doubling the mass of the rotating object will increase the centrifugal force by a factor of 2, but doubling the number of revolutions per minute (rpm) will increase the centrifugal force by a factor of 4 (equals 2 times 2); similarly, increasing the speed by a factor of 10 will increase the force by a factor of 100 (equals 10 times 10)

centrifugal force is expressed by the basic relation F = mí2 / R = 4ð2mn2R; F is the centrifugal force, m the mass, R the radius, v the speed, and n the number of revolutions per second.

suspended particles denser than the suspending liquid tend to migrate toward the periphery, while those LESS DENSE LIKE OUR NOT SO FRIENDLY POLYMER FINE STRANDS MOVE TOWARDS THE CENTRE ALONG WITH THE PURIFIED FUEL. 

The rapidity with which the migration proceeds is dependent on the intensity of the centrifugal field, the difference between the density of the particle and that of the suspending liquid, the viscosity of the liquid, the size and shape of the particle, and to some extent the concentration of the particles and the degree to which they are electrically charged. 

The net motivating force exerted on the particle is the difference between the centrifugal field acting on it and the opposing buoyancy of the liquid. All other things being equal for two particles, one with a diameter 10 times that of the other will require only 1/100 as much average centrifugal field to move a given distance in a given time as the smaller.

an experiment for the advocaters of rigorous and continious purification: a partial separation of two groups of suspended particles of different size can be effected by allowing centrifugation to continue--

ONLY LONG ENOUGH for all of the larger particles to be completely packed into the sediment, since then many of the small particles will still be suspended in the fluid. If separation of the smaller particles is desired, the surface fluid can be drawn off and the sediment resuspended in some suitable liquid and subsequently centrifuged again to effect further separation-or you must go for vacuum type tubular centrifuges NOT available on board ships.

vacuum type : the density-gradient vacuum centrifuge consists in setting up a radial density variation or gradient in the tubular centrifuge with slowly sedimenting nonreactive smaller molecules  If, then, the density of the substance to be purified falls within the range of the artificial density gradient, it will collect in a thin cylindrical surface at a definite radius. If more than one substance is in the solution, each of the substances will collect at a radius determined by its particle density.

and pray--why go fo all this? JUST FIT A HOMOGENISER--

--AFTER THE RUCKUS I CREATED ON XXX ( 10 MICRON FILTERS ) JUST CHECK ALL THE OLD CORRESPONDENCE  -- WE GOT A HOMOGENISER ON XXX SHIPS ( 5 MICRON FILTERS )

i rest mE case--

brgds

capt ajit vadakayil

master

mt.XXX

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CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

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