Since the implementation of the sulfur cap legislation in 2020, marine very-low-sulfur fuel oil, often known as VLSFO, has become a crucial source of fuel for the contemporary shipping industry. However, both the production and utilization processes of VLSFO are plagued by the poor miscibility of the cutter fraction and the residual fraction, which can result in the precipitation of asphaltene. In this study, biodiesel was chosen as a cutter fraction to improve the stability and compatibility of asphaltene in VLSFO because of its environmental benefit and strong solubility. The average chemical structure of asphaltene derived from the marine low-sulfur fuel oil sample was analyzed using element analysis, FTIR, ¹HNMR, and time-flight spectroscopy. The composition of biodiesel was analyzed using GC-MS. It was found that the asphaltene had a feature of a short side chain, low H/C ratio, high aromaticity, and a high proportion of heteroatoms. Both laboratory experiments and molecular dynamic simulations were applied to investigate the dispersion effect and mechanism compared with other dispersants. The dispersion effect of biodiesel was studied using measurements of the initial precipitation point (IPP), dispersion improvement rate, and morphology of asphaltene in the model oil. Experimental results revealed that biodiesel was fully compatible with heavy fuel oil and that it can postpone the IPP from 46% to 54% and increase the dispersion improvement rate to 35%. Molecular dynamics (MDs) simulation results show that biodiesel can form strong interactions with the fused aromatics structures and heteroatoms in the asphaltene; such interactions can increase the solubility of asphaltene and acts as a “connection bridge” to promote the dispersion effect of asphaltene molecules.

This paper studies the combustion performance of diesel in constant volume combustion vessels under different conditions of mixed low-nitrogen (O₂ and N₂) or non-nitrogen (O₂ and CO₂) in varying proportions. The high-speed camera is used to shoot the combustion flame in the constant volume combustion vessel. The process and morphology of the combustion flame are amplified in both time and space to study and analyze the effects of different compositions and concentrations in gases on the combustion performance of diesel and conduct a study on the contributory factors in the performance of diesel with no nitrogen. According to the study, in the condition of low nitrogen, the O₂ concentration is more than 60%, the ignition delay period is shortened, the combustion flame is bright and slender, it spreads quickly, and the blue flame appears when the O₂ concentration reaches 70%; While for nitrogen-free combustion, only when the O₂ concentration reaches 30% is the combustion close to the air condition; when the O₂ concentration reaches 40%, the combustion condition is optimized obviously and the combustion flame is relatively slender compared to the air working condition. Similarly, with the increase of the O₂ concentration, the ignition delay period of nitrogen-free diesel is shortened, the duration is extended, and the combustion performance is optimized. In addition, when the O₂ concentration reaches 50%, with the decrease of the initial temperature, the ignition delay period is prolonged, and the duration is shortened obviously. When the temperature is lower than 700 K, there is no ignition. The increase of the diesel injection pressure is beneficial to optimize the ignition performance of diesel non-nitrogen combustion and shorten its ignition delay period and combustion duration. Related research has important guiding significance to optimize nitrogen-free combustion technology, which produces no NOx of the diesel engine.

In this study, the experimental design of response surface methodology was used to explore the interaction between spraying parameters to obtain an optimized process to reduce the porosity of the coating, and to prepare an excellent chromium oxide coating. The order of the single parameter affecting porosity is as follows: power > main gas > spraying distance > carrier gas flow. This study found that the spraying process with the lowest porosity of the chromium oxide coating is as follows: power of 625 W, stand-off distance of 105 mm, primary gas of 42.5 lpm, carrier gas flow of 5 lpm, and feed powder delivery rate of 35 g/min. The EDS results show that the Cr and O elements in the coating with the lowest porosity are uniformly distributed, while for the coating with the highest porosity, the elements are unevenly distributed to a certain extent, which is caused by the unevenness of the structure caused by the structure defects. The corrosion current density of chromium oxide coating VI (low porosity) is 4.34 × 10⁻⁶ A, whereas that of chromium oxide coating IV (high porosity) is 1.862 × 10⁻⁵ A. On the coating with the highest porosity, the corrosion activity is dominant, while the minimum porosity of coating is the smallest.

Ships and offshore equipment operating in marine environments often face issues such as seawater corrosion and biofouling, leading to significant economic losses. To address the corrosion problems of ships and offshore equipment, heavy-duty anticorrosive coatings are widely used for corrosion protection in marine environments due to their long-term effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and excellent applicability. In this study, silane coupling agent (KH-560) was employed to modify sodium silicate, and the modified sodium silicate was then incorporated as a reinforcing phase into polyurethane to ultimately prepare a modified sodium silicate/polyurethane coating. The feasibility of the modified sodium silicate/polyurethane coating was investigated by characterizing its conventional physicochemical properties, weather resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and salt spray corrosion resistance. Experimental results indicate that the silane coupling agent acts as a bridge between the organic and inorganic interfaces through the hydrolysis and condensation reactions of its bifunctional groups, forming an interfacial layer connected by hydrogen bonds and covalent bonds, thereby improving the compatibility between the organic resin and inorganic sodium silicate. Comprehensive performance analysis revealed that when the content of modified sodium silicate was 60 wt%, the coating hardness reached 4H. Additionally, electrochemical tests demonstrated that the coating exhibited higher impedance (9.62 × 10⁴ Ω/cm²) and lower corrosion current density (5.82 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm²). This study provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the development of high-performance anticorrosive coatings for marine applications.

The current work synthesized Ni-SiC composite coating with different SiC microparticle contents. The role of the SiC microparticle in designing the Ni-SiC composite microstructure was revealed. The SiC microparticle physically interrupted the continuous growth of the underlying columnar Ni grains. The columnar Ni grain between the embedded SiC microparticle grew without disturbance. Only upon SiC microparticles was a new layer starting with refined Ni grains observable. The vertical columnar Ni grains reappeared as the position departed the SiC microparticle upper surface. The increase in the contents of the SiC microparticle led to an increased level of grain refinement and the elimination of the (200) fiber texture. Besides that, the number of V-shaped valleys increased as well. Corrosion testing results show that the corrosion resistance of Ni-SiC composite coating increased with the increased SiC contents, which was mainly due to the optimized microstructure.

This study analyzes Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) and Carbon Diesel Particulate Filter (CDPF) after-treatment systems integrated into a WARTSILA W20DF marine dual-fuel engine. The CDPF was coated with a non-precious metal catalyst whose catalytic redox performance improved with increasing temperature. The carbon particulate matter combustion reached up to 12.5 mg/s at 800 K and over 20 mg/s at 900 K. Then, the W20DF running at 230 kW, 450 kW, 680 kW, and 810 kW with 1000 rpm; a Tisch 10-8xx; and an AVL SPC 478 were used to sample and analyze the carbon particulate matter (CPM) before and after DOC + CDPF. The gaseous emissions (O₂, CO₂, CO, HC, NOx, and NO₂) were analyzed with the flue gas analyzer AVL i60. The results show that the collected carbon particulate matter simultaneously became darker as the load decreased. This study finds that the maximum amount of CPM per unit volume of exhaust gas occurs under 50% working conditions and the lowest amount under 90% working conditions. After DOC + CDPF treatment with a non-precious metal coating, the CPM was reduced by about 50%. Furthermore, this type of catalyst’s efficiency rises with the temperature increase. The CPM combustion efficiency reached up to 20 mg/s at 900 K. The other gas components in the exhaust gas before and after DOC + CDPF also changed. These research results have a significant reference value for DOC + CDPF optimization to decrease the carbon particulate matter in marine engines.