Abstract
In order to reduce greenhouse gases, it is necessary to develop technologies for improving fuel efficiency. Slow steaming, heat recovery, low friction vessel designs and use of renewable energy are among those being evaluated in the marine engineering field today. Fuel economy lubricants for automobiles have been developed because the frictional loss is significant in automobile engines, and these lubricants contribute to reduced fuel consumption. For marine engines, especially 2-stroke crosshead engines, there has been no study on the improvement of fuel efficiency with lubricants. The authors investigated the influence of the viscosity characteristics of marine diesel lubricants and their additives (friction modifiers, etc.) on fuel efficiency, and showed that marine diesel lubricants with optimized formulations can reduce total friction loss by 20% and improve the fuel efficiency of marine engines by 1.3%.
