Marine Fuel
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In the maritime field another type of classification is used for fuel oils:
MGO (Marine gasoil) – roughly equivalent to No. 2 fuel oil, made from distillate only
MDO (Marine diesel oil) – A blend of gasoil and heavy fuel oil
IFO (Intermediate fuel oil) A blend of gasoil and heavy fuel oil, with less gasoil than marine diesel oil
MFO (Medium fuel oil) – A blend of gasoil and heavy fuel oil, with less gasoil than intermediate fuel oil
HFO (Heavy fuel oil) – Pure or nearly pure residual oil, roughly equivalent to No. 6 fuel oil
Marine diesel oil contains some heavy fuel oil, unlike regular diesels. Also, marine fuel oils sometimes contain waste products such as used motor oil.
Standards and classification
Marine fuels were traditionally classified after their kinematic viscosity. This is a mostly valid criteria for the quality of the oil as long as the oil is made only from atmospheric distillation. Today, almost all marine fuels are based on fractions from other more advanced refinery processes and the viscosity itself says little about the quality as fuel. CCAI and CII are two indices which describe the ignition quality of residual fuel oil, and CCAI is especially often calculated for marine fuels. Despite this marine fuels are still quoted on the international bunker markets with their maximum viscosity (which is set by the ISO 8217 standard – see below) due to the fact that marine engines are designed to use different viscosities of fuel.[1]. The unit of viscosity used is the Centistoke and the fuels most frequently quoted are listed below in order of cost, the least expensive first-
IFO 380 – Intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 380 Centistokes
IFO 180 – Intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 180 Centistokes
LS 380 – Low-sulphur (<1.5%) intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 380 Centistokes
LS 180 – Low-sulphur (<1.5%) intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 180 Centistokes
MDO – Marine diesel oil.
MGO – Marine gasoil.
The density is also an important parameter for fuel oils since marine fuels are purified before use to remove water and dirt from the oil. Since the purifiers use centrifugal force, the oil must have a density which is sufficiently different from water. Older purifiers had a maximum of 991 kg/m3; with modern purifiers it is also possible to purify oil with a density of 1010 kg/m3.
The first British standard for fuel oil came in 1982. The latest standard is ISO 8217 from 2005. The ISO standard describe four qualities of distillate fuels and 10 qualities of residual fuels. Over the years the standards have become stricter on environmentally important parameters such as sulfur content. The latest standard also banned the adding of used lubricating oil (ULO).
