Re-using waste oil

But the company said that as it turns out, recovering fuel is only one reason customers are buying the technology, easier disposal of waste at the quayside is another.

Pauli Kujala, Alfa Laval senior business manager responsible for the system, said: “Customers are just as interested in PureDry now that fuel prices have dropped. Simply put, removing fuel from waste oil has advantages we never envisioned from the start.”

When waste oil is separated with PureDry there is no left over liquid. Fuel of ISO 8217 quality is returned to the bunker tank, while all of the water is sent to the bilge water treatment system. All that remains are 5 to 10kg per day of super-dry solids, which just have to be landed as dry waste or incinerated.

Added to this, PureDry eliminates the need for having to pump waste oil and sludge onto receiving barges, which can be a messy and arduous procedure.

For some other customers, the reduction of sludge into super-dry solids is a way to remove yet another procedure – sludge incineration. For these customers, not only does PureDry recover waste fuel, it prevents fuel from being wasted in the first place.

Just two years after its launch, Alfa Laval has sold over 160 PureDry units. Customers include the Carnival Corporation, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC.