United States Department of Transportation
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Assessment of Lube Oil Management and Self-Cleaning Oil Filter Feasibility in WSF Vessels – Final Report
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2016-11-01
[PDF-1.01 MB]
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TRIS Online Accession Number:1618830
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Edition:Final Report (9/1/2012-9/29/2016)
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Abstract:This research examined the feasibility of using self-cleaning oil filtration systems in the Washington State Ferries (WSF) fleet from a three-pronged perspective: (1) filtration effectiveness, (2) environmental impact, and (3) cost impact. A pilot self-cleaning filtration system, which filters oils without using disposable filter cartridges, was installed on one vessel from which to collect data. Filtration effectiveness was analyzed using oil analysis records, by trending the values of oil properties known to be important for lubrication and which indicate oil degradation. Results showed little difference between the standard paper cartridge filtration system currently in wide use and the self-cleaning system. Environmental impact was analyzed with a life cycle assessment methodology which quantifies potential impacts based on expected operation. For the self-cleaning system, there were decreased impacts from oil and filter use, but additional diesel fuel consumed by that system outweighed the benefits in many impact categories. Cost impact was analyzed with life cycle cost analysis, which suggested that the standard system would outperform the self-cleaning system in terms of whole life cost (unless the oil lifetime could be increased by more than three-fold), again mostly due to the additional fuel use of the self-cleaning system. Therefore, if expected costs and environmental impacts are major decision points it appears that a suitable alternative system would need to consume less diesel fuel to be viable. However, the self-cleaning system analyzed in this report would likely decrease risks, such as oil spills during filter handling, and provide operational benefits due to reduced expected maintenance. The pilot system was removed following the data collection period and deployments of self-cleaning filtration systems to other WSF vessels are not expected.
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