What are the difference b/w a Lube oil and a Fuel oil (LO & FO) purifier?
The main difference is that Lube oil (LO )purifier is used mainly for the separation of water and the fuel oil (FO ) purifer used mainly for the separation of sludge.
Thus, Fuel oil (FO ) purifier run as clarifier in the most of the ship and Lube oil (LO ) system is run as purifer.
Clarifier has a laval ring / chamber where as the purifer has a dam ring.
So, the major difference is the setting of backpressure and throughput. There’s a change in the gravity disk.
In the HFO purifier, we can see 3 pipe connections on the top, which is dirty oil, clean oil and water. Usually, the purifier runs as a clarifier and if it detects the presence of water, it opens the drain valve in the water outlet and reduces the water content in the purified oil. It is ALCAP (alpha level clarifier and purifier).
In Lube oil (LO ) purifier we can see only 2 pipe connections fitted on top.which is outlet for dirty oil and purified oil.
Here,There is no water connection (water+ sludge) in the LO discharge through the sludge port.
Each purifier has its own limitations, it will be clearly specify in manuals, which oil to use, depending on the capacity.
you can use lube oil (LO ) purifier for diesel oil , but not for the heavy oil, as the optimum temperature maintained for heavy Oil (ho ) is around 98 degree Celsius.In the case of Lube Oil (LO ) purifier, if heavy fuel oil (HFO ) is used and the optimum temperature is maintained it will spoil the o – rings.
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