Emerson, Rederi AB Develop Flowmeters for Fuel Efficiency

Micro Motion Coriolis flowmeters help Rederi AB Transatlantic maximize fuel efficiency and reduce fuel costs by 2 per cent per vessel, with an investment payback time of only two months

Following a joint program by Rederi AB Transatlantic, Transas AB, and Emerson Process Management to develop an onboard solution for better control of marine fuel consumption, Rederi AB Transatlantic has installed Emerson’s Micro Motion Coriolis mass flowmeters on several ships in its fleet. The standard solution uses a compact Micro Motion F100-Series Coriolis sensor with a Model 1700 transmitter to provide highly accurate, traceable and transparent mass-based measurement of fuel oil.

Using the MODBUS communications protocol, the mass flowmeter sends data to a fuel efficiency control system supplied by Transas AB in Sweden.  This system, also called a Conning unit, collects information from the flowmeter and other onboard systems to help the crew optimize the operation of the ship. Tighter control and management of fuel burned improves engine efficiency, delivering fuel savings and reducing emissions.

Emerson also supplied its Mobrey MCU 901 Universal Transmitter Controllers and Indicators to show the actual flow for local reading in the engine room or control room.

According to Leif Holmberg, superintendent at Rederi AB Transatlantic, "The Coriolis mass flowmeter and Conning unit have been installed and running for over a year on the M/V Ortviken, and a slightly shorter time on the M/V Transpaper. The installations have reduced our fuel costs by approximately 2 per cent over a 12 month period for each vessel. These savings in fuel have provided a return on our total investment of just two months.”

“Based on these successes, we will be investing in further installations onboard other ships in our fleet,” continued Holmberg. “We are also working to develop the fuel efficiency system to be even more effective in saving fuel by using additional information that other systems onboard can provide.”