Dual fuel plant powers new LNG carrier

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Oct 2010

Five dual-fuel MAN engines comprised the diesel-electric propulsion plant for the LNG vessel ‘Castillo de Santisteban’ recently delivered by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding to the Spanish shipping group Empresa Naviera Elcano. The five MAN dual-fuel 8L51/60DF engines each deliver 8,000kW at 514 rpm to power the 300m long LNG carrier which has a 173,600 m3 carrying capacity. The newbuilding has been assigned by her charterer, Spanish energy company Repsol – Gas Natural LNG (Stream), to the Peruvian Camisea/Pampa Melchorita gas project, the first natural-gas liquefaction plant in South America.
Klaus Deleroi, senior vice president, MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, said: “When it comes to ship-propulsion technology, the future is gas. Not only for LNG carriers, but also for cargo vessels, ferries and even cruise liners. Knowing this, it is important for MAN Diesel & Turbo to have a strong reference already at sea with our new 51/60 dual-fuel engine, and that is exactly what we have with the Castillo de Santisteban.”
The LNG carrier recently passed extensive gas and sea trials before the hand-over to its owner. Its entry into active service represents a milestone for MAN in that the order for the ship’s dual-fuel engines, registered in 2007, was the very first received for this engine type. The engine is especially designed for propulsion systems for LNG carriers and gas-fuelled ships, and focuses on the safety requirements stipulated by classification societies for gas operation.
The vessel’s new propulsion system is designed to give it a higher degree of redundancy in terms of maintenance while sailing, and takes advantage of the 51/60DF engine’s multiple fuelling options. The 8L51/60DF engines were built at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s own works in Germany. They can run on gaseous (for example, vaporised LNG) or liquid fuels of a wide range of qualities (HFO/MDO/MGO) and have low emission levels.
At 1.5 g/kWh (IMO cycle E2) in gaseous-fuel operating mode, the 51/60DF already complies with future IMO Tier-III limits for NOx by a considerable margin without the need for exhaust-gas treatment or any other countermeasures.
MAN’s 51/60DF dual-fuel engine offers 1,000 kW/cylinder output at 514 rpm for 60-Hz generator sets in both its gaseous and liquid-fuel operating modes. For marine applications, it is offered in inline versions with 6, 7, 8 and 9 cylinders and V- configuration versions with 12, 14, 16, and 18 cylinders in a power range from 6,000 to 18,000kW.
MAN’s new engine model uses the common-rail micro-pilot fuel-injection system for liquid fuel that is necessary when running on gas to ignite the air-gas mixture. This system ensures independent control of injection timing, injection pressure and injection volume. When running on liquid fuel, the 51/60DF works with a conventional fuel-injection system, injecting the fuel oil through a separate main fuel injector in a camshaft-actuated pump-line-nozzle system. The fuel injection control is integrated within the engine’s SaCoSone (Safety and Control System).

Source: Motorship