Page 20. MAINE COASTAL NEWS June 2013 Reusable Oil Filter Technology Saves By Del Williams
High fuel prices, increasing emissions regulations and environmental concerns are driving fl eets to cut expenses, emissions and waste disposal using new fi lter technology With ship fl eets facing spiraling fuel prices and new tougher environmental regulations from the EPA and IMO, fl eet managers have had to look for new technology to control costs and emissions. One of the most promising areas to considerably cut spending while meeting all EPA and IMO regulations is reducing maintenance costs and waste production/ disposal with reusable lubrication fi lter technology. Traditional disposable fi lters have an important disadvantage: high replacement, disposal, inventory, and environmental cost. Every oil change, oil fi lters must be replaced, the old fi lters disposed of, and the spare fi lters inventoried in a space-restricted marine setting. All lubricant and air fi lters must also be regularly replaced, with disposal and inventory signifi cantly adding to maintenance costs.
In a ship, there are many engines: not just propulsion engines, but up to 30 diesel engines on large ships that can run generators and pumps on a 24/7 basis. All of these engines use fi lters, and replacement costs can spiral exponentially—as can disposal costs. While some try to stretch the time each fi lter can last, failing to replace them when needed can hurt performance, horsepower, fuel mileage, and engine life. With fl eets of ships, these costs can add up, and over 10 years can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“The trend in the marine industry is away from disposable fi lters due to their high replacement, disposal, inventory, and
environmental costs,” says Bob Story, Vice President of Story Electric Co., a fl eet, marine, and industry supplier based in Paducah, KY, whose marine customers primarily transport commodities up and down the Mississippi River.
“For my marine customers, the cost
of oil fi lter disposal is now several times the cost of the disposable fi lter itself,” says Story. “River boats don’t stop when they take on fuel, supplies, or remove waste. Third-party boats tie onto them while they’re in motion, remove the old fi lters, then a disposal company is paid to dispose of the waste. The fl eet ends up paying the price.” A growing number of fl eets, including some of Bob Story’s customers, are discovering that innovative, reusable fi lter technology can really cut the cost and complexity of fi lter maintenance. “As part of a push toward reusability and sustainability, an energy company that uses tugboats to push coal up the river chose an FTG cleanable, reusable oil fi lter to reduce their environmental impact and save money,” says Story. “The ROI can be rather quick, particularly in working fl eets with high disposal costs.”
Instead of a traditional, disposable
fi lter media enclosed in a metal canister that ends up in a landfi ll, Filtration Technology Group (FTG), a Cerritos, Calif.-based manufacturer of custom lubrication fi lters and a global supplier of quality fi lters and fi ttings, offers full-fl ow, cleanable, reusable fi lters that are designed to last the life of the engine or beyond. The reusable fi lters replace lube oil and other fi lters with a cleanable stainless steel wire cloth fi lter,
Continued on Page 24.
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Publisher's Note Continued from Page 4.
A major problem in the boating world is that some of the regulations were written for shipyards, like Bath Iron Works, and they do not really apply to small vessels. Another problem is who is writing the laws, lawyers. I think this a confl ict of interest. No lawyer, practicing or not, should be in an elected position writing laws. Some would do the right thing, but too many are only looking to feather their nest.
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Another major issue involves people, mostly retired and from away. They look at the coast’s scenic beauty and tranquility, but fail to see, or simply just do not care, about those that need to make a living here. Consistently you hear about projects killed by these special interest groups. Remember when LNG wanted to come to Maine? There were legitimate questions, but there was also a lot of misinformation. Besides those special interest people, do you know who donated to the environmental groups fi ght- ing to keep LNG out, the other commercial ports in the northeast who wanted it. Take Searsport, one of the three com- mercial ports in Maine, (Portland and East- port the others), and special interest recently fought to keep a propane tank out and a nearly $50 million project and all the jobs associated with it, vanished. A select few had a legitimate issue, but most simply did not want it. Ballots taken in town were for, and one would think that the planning board would rule on whether the project complied with the town’s regulations and not be de- cided in favour of a minority. Another issue I had is that some fi ghting against the tank
were not even from that town. The message sent by Searsport is that it is not business friendly so go somewhere else. Rumour on the streets is now the special interest people are going to try and stop the upcoming dredging project at Mack’s Point in Sear- sport. The State of Maine needs to step in, as it should have done with the tank, and say this is a port, it abides by all the regulations and it is happening.
The people of Eastport understand and that port is growing. When a port in the Mid-Atlantic states did not want to deal with cattle, that went to Eastport and has translated into good jobs. People who live in one of these three ports need to understand that these are working ports, and have been for more than two hundred years. If you moved to a port we are not going to change its usefulness to appease you. One thing that should never have been done, was giving Sear’s Island away. This was paid for by the people of Maine for a port. Anencephalic Baldacci fi gured he needed votes for his sec- ond election so he gave it to special interests. All three ports need to grow as needed and that does not mean expand without a need. In reality Sear’s Island may never need to be used in addition to Mack’s Point. Maine is one of the most beautiful plac- es in the world, but it is a working state. We need to protect this beauty, but also people here need jobs. This paper supports the true working waterfront and that means com- mercial fi shing and shipping, boat yards and marinas, and others who make their living on the coast. Special interest people that want to make it a retirement or welfare state need to be shut up or sent packing!
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