On January 1st, 2020, the International Marine Organization’s (IMO) regulations will limit the sulfur content in fuel oil used on ships from 3.5% to 0.5% m/m worldwide according to the MARPOL 2020 Convention. This will drastically create a massive demand for low sulfur fuels.
There are several fuel options to stay in compliance with the IMO 2020 regulations: VLSFO, LNG, HSFO and MGO. Marine Gas Oil (MGO), will most likely account for the majority of the marine fuel use since it’s already widely available, operationally tested and it requires no investment or new operating procedures. Switching to Marine Gas Oil (MGO) requires careful consideration of viscosity, cold flow properties, flash point, FAME content, as well as sulfur, particularly in extreme temperatures. Blending bunkers from different suppliers can result in fuel instability and incompatibility.
MFA: Marine Fuel Viscosity, Density & Cold Properties
Phase Technology’s new MFA-70Xi analyzer measures cloud point, pour point, viscosity and density of light marine distillate fuels like DMX, DMA, DMZ, and DMB.
Marine Gas Oil (MGO) will need to have less than 0.5% of sulfur, a significant decrease from the existing 3.5 %, according to the MARPOL 2020 convention.
The MFA-70Xi is completely self-cleaning, and completes all the tests in less than 25 minutes.
Compliant with: ASTM D7945, D5773, D5949, D7770
