What types of oil purifiers are used on board ships?

On board, oil purifiers (also called oil separators or oil cleaners) are key equipment used to maintain the cleanliness of lubricating oil and fuel oil in ship machinery systems. Types of oil purifiers used on board include:

1. Centrifugal oil purifier:

- Use centrifugal force to separate water and solid particles from oil.

- Suitable for handling large amounts of oil, commonly used for lubricating oil and fuel oil purification of main engines and auxiliary engines.

2. Element oil purifier:

- Removes solid particles from oil through replaceable filter elements.

- Suitable for fine filtration, commonly used for lubricating oil purification of hydraulic systems and small machinery.

3. Vacuum oil purifier:

- Heats oil under vacuum to remove water and dissolved gases.

- Suitable for occasions where deep dehydration and degassing are required, such as the treatment of transformer oil and turbine oil.

4. Plate and frame oil purifier:

- Filters solid impurities in oil through filter paper or filter cloth.

- Suitable for treating oil containing larger particle impurities.

5. Magnetic oil purifier:

- Uses magnetic filters to absorb ferromagnetic particles in the oil.

- Suitable for removing metal chips from the oil, commonly used in gearbox and bearing lubrication systems.

6. Electrostatic oil purifier:

- Uses electric field to charge and aggregate tiny particles in the oil, which is convenient for subsequent filtration or precipitation removal.

- Suitable for treating oil containing tiny particles and colloidal substances.

7. Polymerization oil purifier:

- Through polymerization, small water droplets in the oil are aggregated into large droplets for easy separation.

- Suitable for removing water from the oil.

8. Adsorption oil purifier:

- Uses adsorbents (such as activated alumina, silica gel, etc.) to remove acids, moisture and other polar substances in the oil.

- Suitable for chemical purification of oil.

Which type of oil purifier is used on board depends on the specific needs of the ship, the type of oil and the degree of contamination. Usually, a variety of oil purification equipment is equipped on board to cope with different purification needs. When selecting an oil purifier, one should consider its processing capacity, purification efficiency, ease of operation and maintenance, and whether it complies with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other relevant standards.