Catfine News

A common concern of maritime chief engineers, regarding vessel engine damages, is the presence of highly abrasive “catfines” within marine fuel. To fully understand the seriousness of this issue, we first need to understand the source of the problem.Oil refineries use catalysts in their Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU) or “Cat Plants” to process crude oils in the production of numerous products from the source crude. These catalysts are high in aluminum silicate (Al+Si) content and over time and repeated use, can breakdown and fragment into smaller particles, or catalytic fines.