Diesel Customer Information No.

295

Action Code:
When Convenient

Operation on low-sulphur fuel MDO & MGO

With our Customer Informations no. 236, 254 and 258, Distillate Fuel
we have outlined the operation of MAN Diesel & Turbo ISO-F-DMA
medium speed engines, designed for heavy fuel oil EU-Directive 2005/33EC
(HFO) operation on distillate fuels (MGO/MDO).
DCI / 295 - July 2010
With the implementation of EU-Directive 2005/33EC
(in force since 01.01.2010) the issue has gained Concerns
importance. We have received many requests from MAN Diesel & Turbo four-stroke
customer concerning this issue and accordingly we engines 16/24, 21/31, 23/30, 27/38,
would like to present the following summary of all the 28/32, 32/40, 32/44, 40/54, 48/60,
important facts. 58/64

The EU-Directive 2005/33EC requires ships at berth Summary

in EU harbors, to be operated on distillate fuels with Upgrade possibilities and advantages
a sulphur content of less than 0.1 %. This directive is regarding the use of distillate fuels.
aimed at improving the environment in the areas in
and around European harbors. In order to comply with Filing Advice
this directive, all MAN Diesel & Turbo medium-speed Operating instructions, Chapter 1
engines can be operated on distillates with a low
sulphur content.

Engines originally designed for HFO operation can be

easily upgraded. This design property is well proven by
long-term operation experience of our engines on gas
oil with a sulphur content of less than 0.001%.

In the following you will find the technical prerequisites

to operate MAN Diesel & Turbo medium-speed
engines with distillate fuels. General requirements while
operating on distillate fuel are:

• The used fuel must comply with the specification

ISO8217 quality ISO-F-DMA
• Fuel temperature must be kept below 45°C for MGO
operation (fuel cooler)

MAN Diesel & Turbo SE PrimeServ PrimeServ PrimeServ

Head office (& postal address)
Stadtbachstraße 1
86153 Augsburg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 821 322 0
Fax: +49 (0) 821 322 3382
mandiesel-de@mandieselturbo.com
www.mandieselturbo.com
After Sales Augsburg
Stadtbachstraße 1
86153 Augsburg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 821 322 3509
Fax: +49 (0) 821 322 1530
primeserv-aug@mandieselturbo.com
After Sales Technical After Sales Commercial
Stadtbachstraße 1 Stadtbachstraße 1
86153 Augsburg 86153 Augsburg
Germany Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 821 322 1499 (24-h-hotline) Phone: +49 (0) 821 322 1799 (24-h-hotline)
Fax: +49 (0) 821 322 3838 Fax: +49 (0) 821 322 3574
primeserv-aug-technical@mandieselturbo.com primeserv-aug-commercial@mandieselturbo.com
MAN Diesel & Turbo – a member of the MAN Group
 DCI / No. 295 - July 2010

Operation > 72 hours on distillate fuel:

• Nozzle cooling needs to be switched off (if installed)

• Inlet valve seat lubrication should be installed and activated
• Sealing oil at fuel pumps is required

Engine Type Specifications

The following table shows specific engine type information, concerning available and required measures
advised for MAN engines. Should your engine need to be upgraded to run on distillate fuel for more than 72
hours, we are able to offer the necessary package. Please ask us for a detailed offer.

32/40, 48/60A, 58/64,

16/24 21/31 23/30 27/38 28/32 32/44CR 40/54B 48/60CR
32/40CD 48/60B 58/64CD
Nozzle
cooling off - - - - - ü ü ü ü ü ü
Valve seat
lubrication - - - - - ü ü ü ü ü ü
Sealing oil at
fuel pump - - - ü - ü - ü ü - ü1)

ü = measure required
- = measure not required
1) = sealing oil already installed

General explanation of the upgrade measures for operation on distillate fuels

The nozzle cooling water system should be switched off while running on distillate fuel, in order to avoid cold
corrosion on the fuel injection nozzles. The cooling water supply pipe to the engine should be closed manually.
The cooling water return pipe must remain open. In case of long term operation on distillate fuel, it is advised
to drain the nozzle cooling water system.

The valve seat lubricating system is based on a piping system which feeds each individual inlet valve seat
with oil. The oil is provided by the oil system of the engine, partially via an additional oil pump depending on
the engine type and required oil pressure. The valve seat lubricating system will be controlled by the engine
controlling system.

The sealing oil on the fuel injection pumps will also be supplied by an oil system on the engine. The sealing oil
must be switched on manually at each individual fuel injection pump, as soon as the operation on distillate fuel
is started.

Should the concerned engine be an original-built MAN Diesel & Turbo four-stroke, medium-speed engine, we
are able to adapt the engine controlling system to implement the following functions:

• Input signal of fuel mode

• Suppressing of nozzle cooling water alarms
• Controlling of inlet valve lubricating system
• Suppressing of fuel temperature alarms

Diesel Customer Information »MDO & MGO« - Page 2 of 4

DCI / No. 295 - July 2010

Fuel oil cooler requirements for operation on distillate fuels

Particularly in MGO operation, it is important to remain above the lower limit for fuel viscosity (2.0 cSt).
Therefore it may be necessary to install a fuel oil cooler.

If the fuel temperature exceeds 45°C a fuel cooler must be installed (based on ISO 8217 quality ISO-F-DMA).
This cooler should be placed in the fuel return pipe before the mixing tank of the booster module. Should you
require any assistance in determining a suitable fuel cooler, please contact as we will be pleased to be of
assistance. In this case please provide us with plant information such as fuel system drawing, specifications
and engine technical data. At a fix price, we will provide you with suitable cooler specifications required for
your application. Based on these findings we can also quote the required cooler.

Lube oil requirements for operation on low sulphur fuel

The operation on low sulphur / distillate fuel demands different approaches concerning lube oil specification.
The two options are as follows:

For temporary operation (< 1.000 hrs) on low sulphur / distillate fuel, the requirements for lube oil are the
same as on HFO operation (BN 30 - 55 mg KOH/g).

For long term operation (> 1.000 hrs) on low sulphur / distillate fuel, there are two possibilities:

1. For permanent low sulphur / distillate fuel operation, the best lube oil specification is BN 10 – 16. While
using this lube oil, it will no longer be possible to switch back to HFO without changing the lube oil filling.
This means that before switching back to HFO mode, exchanging of the oil filling is required (BN 30 - 55).
This is necessary due incompatibility of both lube oils. These oils must not be mixed.

2. If the operation on low sulphur / distillate is temporary, however over 1.000 hrs, a BN 20 lube oil of the
same product line as the lube oil used for HFO operation should be chosen for replenishment. When
switching back to HFO the equivalent lube oil with a higher BN (30 - 55) should then be used for
replenishment again. As the BN 20 and the BN 30 - 55 lube oil of the same oil product line are fully
compatible, there is no need for a complete change of the oil in the engine. Only the oil used for
replenishment of the consumed oil needs to be selected according the fuel used (distillate BN 20, HFO:
BN 30 - 55).

Other operational aspects

Lubricity of fuels:

Desulphurised gas oil (S< 0.05%) can have poor lubricity. Damages have been reported in automotive
applications in the past. The experience in marine applications is limited.

Reliable operation on automotive fuels is well proven for marine engines. Therefore using the limits specified
for automotive fuels ensures safe operation. A suitable limit is “lubricity according IP450 max. 520 µm”.

This limit has been proposed for the new ISO 8217 expected in the summer of 2010.

Diesel Customer Information »MDO & MGO« - Page 3 of 4

DCI / No. 295 - July 2010

Changeover from HFO

The changeover from HFO to distillate fuel must be carried out in accordance with our changeover procedure
(see the operating manual of your engine). This ensures a slow changeover and allows adequate time for the
temperature of the fuel pumps to decrease from up to 150 °C in HFO operation to a maximum of 45°C in gas
oil operation. This is essential in order to avoid pump seizure due to the insufficient viscosity of the diesel fuel.

During this changeover, HFO is mixed with distillate in the booster system, including in the mixing tank. This
applies to all distillates, regardless of the fuel sulphur content. A smooth changeover requires good
compatibility between the HFO and the distillate in question. Most commonly available distillates (MDO and
MGO) are compatible with most HFOs. Since the low sulphur content of the distillate fuel often correlates with
a poor solubility of asphaltenes, low sulphur distillates may be incompatible with HFOs that are rich in
asphaltenes, resulting in problems such as deposit build-up and filter clogging.

Support
Should you be interested to know more about the upgrade possibilities for you engine application, we are
available for assistance. Please use the following contact for further information:

Contact
Should you have any queries, our Technical Service will be pleased to be of assistance:

MAN Diesel & Turbo SE

86224 Augsburg
Tel.: +49 (0) 821 322 1181
Fax: +49 (0) 821 322 3838
E-mail: primeserv-aug-technical@mandieselturbo.com

Robert Glauber Jörn Holst

Senior Vice President Senior Manager
After Sales After Sales Technical

Please forward this information to your technical operational personnel and

remember to inform us of the current operating hours of your MAN Diesel & Turbo engines.

Diesel Customer Information »MDO & MGO« - Page 4 of 4