Test Kit Cat Fines Check

Catalyst fines are hard particles of abrasive nature consisting of aluminium and silicon oxide, and are used in the refinery process of crude oil. It can happen that these particles remain in the bunker fuel. Due to their scouring action, cat fines are regarded as potential risk for ship engines. The TEST KIT CAT FINES CHECK is specifically developed for easy and quick assessment of the particles content in residual fuels like HFO directly on-site. The device enables the regular monitoring of the oil condition in order to check whether the cat fines are present in the heavy fuel oil or not. Thereby, this can help to ensure the effective functioning of the engine.

This simple and quick test method enables regular testing of heavy fuel oil samples before and after a separator as well as prior to using the oil for engine operation. The relevant HFO samples are getting prepared and diluted in glass vials. After that plastic microcentrifuge tubes are filled with the obtained mixture from glass vials and a reagent. The microcentrifuge tubes are placed in the centrifuge in a parallel position (when there is an odd number of microcentrifuge tubes, a filled plastic tube has to be used to balance the centrifuge). It is recommended to mark each microcentrifuge tube in order to know which HFO sample is under inspection. After 10 minutes the samples can be taken out of the centrifuge and the end- results, namely the level of cat fines presence in the heavy fuel oil, can be assessed.
As shown in the picture below, two heavy fuel oil samples can be directly compared. The example depicts the degree of cat fines found in the HFO before and after a separator. A visual quantification by means of the Comparison Chart (part of each TEST KIT CAT FINES CHECK) is possible.

Left: before separator                    Right: after separator

Test procedure

Visual Quantification by means of Comparison Chart TEST KIT CAT FINES CHECK

TEST KIT CAT FINES CHECK is provided in a sturdy briefcase of 46 x 33 x 20 cm.