22OCT2019 - NEWS - VPS develops new test for wax in VLSFOs

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) has successfully completed R&D work into instrumentation development and test methodology, in order to develop and launch a new test method which accurately measures the Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT) of the new Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFOs) marine fuels.

New fuel blends to meet the IMO 2020 regulation will contain a greater level of paraffinic component, than previously seen with High Sulphur Fuel Oils (HSFOs). As a consequence, these new Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oils (VLSFOs) will exhibit a higher potential for wax to precipitate from the fuel solution, due to temperature-related issues, causing various operational problems onboard ship. The temperature at which wax precipitation starts is highly dependent upon chemical composition which varies significantly from fuel to fuel.