Imagine the potential costs savings of a single, fully automated fuel filtration unit that negates the need for the centrifuges, coalescers and pre-filters that typically form part of a ship's fuel treatment system. No onboard storage of filters, reduced maintenance schedules and certainly no need to worry about putting those fuel separator cones back in the correct order after cleaning them. In fact, the potential for a unit is such, especially within the world's navies, that ceramic membrane technology specialist Cobham Fluid Sytsems, together with science and technology solutions firm Qinetiq, has developed and is now marketing a cross flow fuel filtration design that, it is claimed, can remove particulate, free water and sodium from marine diesel. Research into cross flow filtration began in the late 1990s, when Qinetiq was contracted by the UK MoD to find a way of significantly reducing the through life costs, spare holdings and maintenance of fuel treatment systems onboard Royal Navy warships.
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