Holger Jacobsen

WiFE Unit On Board APL Singapore

Flushing box that Danica Diesel designed for flushing of the new fuel system on M/V APL Singapore.

Water in Fuel Emulsion
A Microscopic View




APL Singapore service visit - flushing the furl system

Holger Jacobsen (centre)
APL Press Event Dec. 2006

Danica Diesel Provides Critical Expertise to Retrofit
New Water in Fuel Emulsion Technology

Danica Diesel provided the requisite marine diesel engineering expertise for a highprofile APL Project at the Port of Los Angeles that involved the retrofitting, demonstration and testing of a water in fuel emulsion technology called WiFE on Demand. The goal of the demonstration project was to test the new technology's ability to reduce emissions on container vessel M/V APL Singapore. The installation of WiFE on Demand on the demonstration vessel's main engine was completed in early 2007 and final emissions testing will begin in June 2007. Led by Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions Corporation (Sea to Sky), the APL Project has been funded through the Carl Moyer Program.

The APL Project was spawned by an earlier successful initiative called the POLA R&D Project at the Port of L.A. in 2006 that involved the research and development of a water in fuel emulsion emissions mitigation system (WiFE on Demand) for ocean-going vessels while calling the port. As a project partner, Danica Diesel played a key role in the development, retrofitting and installation of the new technology on the research vessel's auxiliary engine. Click here to read more about the POLA R&D Project.

Project Partners

Danica Diesel and founder Holger Jacobsen worked closely with other APL Project's project partners which included government agencies and key industry stakeholders:

• Sea to Sky Pollutions Solutions Corporation
• Danica Diesel
• APL Maritime
• California Air Districts (Bay Area AQMD
• Ventura County APCD
• San Luis Obispo County APCD
• Santa Barbara County APCD)
• Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach
• California Air Resources Board (CARB)
• Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• MAN B&W Diesel
• University of California Riverside (Center for Environmental Research & Technology (C-CERT))

Man B&W Diesel, the world's leading manufacturer of marine diesel engines, worked closely with Sea to Sky and Danica Diesel to ensure the safe retrofitting of the technology on APL Singapore's main engine, and was also instrumental in the development and patenting of the WiFE on Demand AutoPurge safety system.

Danica Diesel Provides the Critical Expertise to Enable WiFE on Demand Technology

While the effectiveness of any new emission mitigation technology is crucial, equally important is the specialized expertise required to enable the technology by effectively retrofitting it to an existing engine on a vessel. Danica acted in this key role for the Port of L.A. APL Project, providing the requisite marine diesel engine expertise in the form of consulting, design and development, modification and installation for this new system on M/V APL Singapore.

Danica played a pivotal role in the project by providing consultation for equipment specifications and project management for all stages of the equipment's installation, including any necessary modifications to the ship's fuel system. This often included Holger Jacobsen and Danica's engineers sailing on the vessel to conduct performance base measurements and assessing baseline mechanical conditions to ensure that the WiFE system was not damaging the vessel's engine, a crucial requirement for the technology's acceptance by vessel operators and engine makers.

In addition, Danica was involved in the testing protocol, provided advice for the design of the WiFE's AutoPurge flushing safety system and was instrumental in creating the extensive documentation required for WiFE's approval by authorities.

Demonstration Vessel M/V APL Singapore

APL is one of the world's leading shipping companies and played a pivotal role supporting and facilitating the project. The demonstration vessel M/V APL Singapore is owned by APL Maritime and currently operates on APL's Asia to North America route. The vessel is a 863 foot post- Panamax container ship built in 1995.

M/V APL Singapore - Vessel Specifics

WIFE on Demand Technology

WiFE on Demand stands for "water in fuel emulsion on demand". Water in fuel emulsion is the process of emulsifying fuel and water before injection into the engine's combustion cylinder, thereby reducing the maximum peak combustion temperature which in turn reduces nitrous oxides (NOx). At the same time, when the water droplets vaporize, they produce "micro-explosions" inside the surrounding fuel droplets, and these microexplosions expose more of the fuel's surface area to the air, which increases combustion.

The micro-explosions also release the water's two elements - hydrogen and oxygen - and the additional oxygen inhibits the formation of the compound called PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), thereby reducing particulate matter (PM).

Emissions reductions anticipated are in the order of 1:1 for NOx and 1:2 to 1:3 for PM based on water percentage (i.e. 30% water reduces NOx by 30% and PM by 60- 90%).The in-cylinder evaporation of the water also improves the atomization of the fuel causing it to burn more completely. Unlike previous water in fuel emulsion technologies, Sea to Sky's WiFE on Demand provides the flexibility of being "on demand" so that a vessel's needs for both emission reduction and engine power can be met simultaneously. The technology has been specifically designed so that it can be suspended when more power and torque are required, such as in docking situations.

APL Project Media Event December 2006

On December 4, 2006 Danica Diesel participated in a press conference and media event held in Los Angeles onboard M/V APL Singapore to announce the APL Project and a demonstration of the WiFE on Demand technology as a retrofit pollution abatement solution. The event was extremely well received and generated numerous media articles.

Emissions Testing of WiFE on Demand from August to October 2007

University of California Riverside's Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CCERT) was responsible for baseline emissions testing and will conduct the post-retrofit emissions testing in three phases from August to October 2007. Danica Diesel will work closely with the UCR to oversee the operation of the WiFE on Demand system and monitor the vessel's engine.

Emission testing is an essential part of the APL Project in order to determine the level of air pollution benefits achieved by WiFE on Demand.

The first of testing phase was completed between August 3rd and August 8th with the purpose of testing the emulsification capability of the WiFE system and to verify that the emulsified fuel would clean the soot from the exhaust system. This test has been successfully completed and while final results are still pending, initial assessments indicate the combustion efficiency post-test has been improved over pre-test combustion efficiency because the soot emissions seem to have been effectively cleaned from the exhaust even though the maximum water content used during the test was 7%. The testing second phase is currently ongoing and consists of the extended use of the emulsifier (i.e. homogenizer) at 0% water content . The third phase is the formal emission testing scheduled for late October.