Nanoparticle additives are to be used on up to fifty American President Lines (APL) containerships in a move to reduce fuel consumption.

The additives are to be manufactured by Neftech Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of China Auto Corporation (CAC), and will be regularly applied to the auxiliary engines of each ship over a five-year period.

This nanoparticle technology is designed to reduce friction through the engine oil. It can also be used alongside Neftech's water emulsion technology, which works directly on the fuel to make it burn more efficiently. Both technologies complement each other and reduce fuel use.

Neftech said it has already installed water emulsion plants on seven container ships from three companies and is in the process of adding more.

According to Neftech, APL has conducted six months of field testing of the nanoparticle additives on one of its containerships, achieving fuel savings of more than 10 percent.

"Ten per cent may not sound like a lot but when it comes to fuel savings for the shipping industry, it is a lot of money," stated Neftech chairman Victor Levin, speaking to the Business Times.

The Neftech website also states that the water emulsion technology can save 7.6 percent of fuel use of on main engines and 8.6 percent on auxiliary engines on a 2,600 twenty-foot-equivalent-unit (TEU) containership.

The nanoparticle technology is currently being field tested on a containership main engine.

-- Source from Fathom- ctech