Search results

Quay Issues is a magazine for the fishing industry. This edition of Quay Issues shines a light on the way in which some businesses are rising to the challenges that the sector faces.

News of offshore activities for the Oil & Gas, Subsea Cable and Wind Farm industries

This magazine presents some of the stories behind the data, emerging from our Economic Survey of the UK Fishing Fleet. It highlights the main issues identified by fishermen during the survey and features case studies on individual fishing businesses demonstrating how they have overcome barriers to success. The magazine also features interviews with other experts describing recent changes in the industry and the adaptive management taking place in their sectors. The aim is to encourage fishing vessel owners to think critically and creatively about how they can solve problems facing their businesses to enhance their overall performance and profitability.

The use of pure plant oil (PPO), also known as vegetable oil, as a diesel fuelextender or as a total fuel substitute is known. The concept gained popularity during the fuel crisis in the 1970’s although engine technology at this time was relatively basic. The concept today has two primary drivers for land transportation: cost reduction and environmental footprint. The use of recovered and suitably processed used cooking oil (UCO) can offer further substantial atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation together with a reduction in other regulated exhaust pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, as well as additional cost savings compared to virgin PPO,.Regenatec has developed technology which retro-fits to diesel engines and allows them to be fuelled by diesel or PPO or UCO. This technology is found in products being sold to owners of land based vehicles, both commercial and domestic. Initial trial work performed by Regenatec on land based vehicles has shown promising results. This project investigated the use of PPO in a trawler, the Jubilee Quest, based in Grimsby, UK, operated on PPO during the Autumn of 2006. The aim of this trial was a technical investigation of the technology and PPO: it was not designed to be a commercial deployment. The use of PPO (and even UCO) is currently commercial unviable in UK marine applications due to the economies of scale enjoyed by the petrochemical industry. (The use of PPO and UCO is only viable for land based vehicles because of a duty rebate currently enjoyed by bio-fuels.) As biofuels start to scale and when the environmental costs of fossil fuels are fully reflected in the cost of the product, it is anticipated that biofuels will become economically viable. As a key part of this project, Regenatec developed their technology into a system to be used at sea by a trawler. Their dual tank system is under electronic control to automate the use of PPO in a diesel engine. This has significant advantages over existing, less sophisticated technology. The engine is started on conventional marine diesel (or biodiesel) and then automatically switches over to the lower cost, more environmentally friendly PPO. The automation greatly improves the ease of use for unskilled operators and removes the potential for engine damage when compared to manual control. Additionally, Regenatec is heavily involved in fuel additive work investigating what fuel additives commonly used to enhance the technical and environmental performance of mineral diesel are applicable to PPO and UCO. This work is being undertaken under Confidentiality Agreement in conjunction with a leading mainstream additive manufacturer. An ‘additive pack’ was not fully developed and therefore not available for field deployment during this project. However, lab work and land based field trials in this area have provided encouraging feedback.

News of offshore activities for the Oil & Gas, Subsea Cable and Wind Farm industries

News of offshore activities for the Oil & Gas, Subsea Cable and Wind Farm industries

News of offshore activities for the Oil & Gas, Subsea Cable and Wind Farm industries

News of offshore activities for the Oil & Gas, Subsea Cable and Wind Farm industries

News of offshore activities for the Oil & Gas, Subsea Cable and Wind Farm industries

On 6th March 2008 representatives from SeaFISH and the University of Exeter met to discuss testing of fuel economy enhancement technologies at the CSM dynamometer test cell facility. These discussions resulted in an order for testing of various technologies to determine their effectiveness. The proposed technologies were varied in nature, ranging from the use of permanent and electromagnets installed on fuel lines to performance exhaust systems and engine lubricant conditioners. For each of these technologies, engine performance and fuel consumption tests were undertaken once without the technology deployed, then once with the technology installed. The results from the two tests were compared.