On completion of this section you should have a good knowledge of the ALCAP fuel
oil separator pre-start checks starting sequence separation sequence discharge
sequence stopping procedure
in the following pages we will cover the generation of an elapsed separators in
order FOPX, 605-613 generation 2 MFP x generation 4
now we will learn about FOP X 605 2 6 1 3 generation 2 pre-start checks check
the EPC is correctly programmed check that the separator is correctly
assembled check the system valves with new installations particularly pay
attention to the power supply are the voltage and frequency correct
click the isolator on the starter box open EPC door click on power button in
top left check the air supply 6 bar is normally required check the water
supplies high or low pressure check the brake is it off
check the lubricating oil for the drive this should be between half and
two-thirds of the glass before starting starting the L cap system
click the pump starter start the feed pump from the pump starter watch the
pressure gauge to ensure flow is established switch on the heater from
the EPC 400 start the separator the ampere meter will rise to a high value
click the starter listen and observe ensure the separator is at full speed
the ammeter will come down to normal running value you can now click the
alarm accept button and step through the list indications now the process should
be started if temperature sensors are fitted and the EPC programmed correctly
the start sequence will not commence until the oil temperature is above the
low temperature alarm setpoint push the start separation button to make the EPC
enter the start sequence
click alarm accept button the EPC enters the start sequence the first stage of
this is parameter 50 the closing of the bowl closing water is applied to the
bowl MV 16 is activated if the alarm accept button is pressed once at this
time the display should show the timer parameter 50 counting down according to
the parameter setting if P 90 equals 1 the oil is still recirculating around
the heater next the oil feed valve changes position and oil is fed to the
bowl this is a stabilizing period for the transducer the bowl fills with oil
and cleaned oil is discharged by the pairing disk a back pressure is
established in the clean oil outlet the operating back pressure is set by the
regulating valve midway between the delivery height pressure which
determines the minimum back pressure and the pressure required to overflow the
bowl the transducer reference is stored by the EPC 400 at the end of this timer
this timer runs for 120 seconds next is the addition of conditioning water this
is to keep the sludge moist and thus help with discharge this timer runs for
60 seconds it is considered good practice to check that the separator
does discharge this is done by pressing the discharge button on the EPC this
will be described in the discharge sequence at the end of the start
sequence the program moves into the separation sequence the length of the
separation sequence is determined by parameter 1 which in turn is set
according to the amount of sludge in the oil V 1 equals P 60 plus P 61 most of
the time is spent in the separation sequence unless the oil contains free
water and nothing special will happen during the
separation sequence until p1 is elapsed at which point it enters the discharge
sequence the first stage of this is parameter 60 the minimum time between
the sludge discharges the second stage of this is parameter 61 the maximum time
between the sludge discharges the second stage of this is parameter 61 the
maximum time between the sludge discharges we will first consider what
happens when there is extremely low free water contamination in the oil first
part of separation sequence is parameter 60 this timer runs for 10 minutes unless
interrupted by trigger signal second part of separation sequence is parameter
61 this timer runs for 20 minutes unless interrupted by trigger signal at the end
of this timer the controller moves into the discharge sequence when the maximum
time between discharges p-61 has elapsed the controller starts the discharge
sequence by the addition of displacement water we will now consider what happens
when there is lower amount of free water contamination in the oil during the
first part of separation sequence parameter 60 there is no change in the
transducer value this timer runs for 10 minutes during the second part of
separation sequence parameter 61 as there is some free water in the oil it
will be separated and the trigger point will be reached this timer runs for 20
minutes unless interrupted by trigger signal when the trigger point is reached
the controller enters the discharge sequence at the beginning of P 72 we
will now consider what happens when there is more free water contamination
in the oil first part of separation sequence is parameter 60 this timer runs
for 10 minutes as the water fills inwards the graphical transducer value
should increase to the trigger point when the trigger point is reached the
water level in the bowl has reached the disk stack the water drain valve opens
and the water leaves the bowl slowly through the hole in the flow control
disk there is a slight drop in the oil back pressure when the water drain valve
is open there is a delay period after the trigger level has dropped below 100
percent after which the water drain valve closes if the trigger point is
reached during P 60 the opening of the drain valve is repeated at the end of
this timer the controller moves into P 61 second part of separation sequence is
parameter 61 this timer runs for 20 minutes unless interrupted by trigger
signal there is some free water in the oil this time the trigger point is
reached when the trigger level reaches 100 percent this is the point at which P
61 is interrupted and the controller enters the discharge sequence at the
beginning of P 72 when the trigger point is reached the controller enters the
discharge sequence at the beginning of P 72 now go to the discharge sequence
at the beginning of every time discharge that is when there is extremely low free
water in the oil displacement water is added to economize on oil losses this
timer runs for 120 seconds unless interrupted by trigger signal MV 10
opens and water goes into the bowl the pressure gauge in the outlet should show
a pressure of about 2.2 bar slightly higher as water is being added as the
water approaches the disc stack some water is detected by the transducer and
the trigger level starts to rise when the trigger reaches 100% the addition of
displacement water is stopped Bowl opening water is then applied if the
trigger point is reached before the separation sequence timer has elapsed
then the discharge sequence starts with the opening water it is not necessary to
add displacement water as the oil has already been displaced to the disk stack
by the free water the EPC must see the feedback signal which indicates that a
discharge has taken place this facility is only possible with separator bowls
designed for partial discharge the trigger point is reached it is this
which initiates the discharge this timer runs for 3.0 seconds when the pressure
in the oil outlet line drops below the low alarm setting the red LED for low
pressure comes on this is the discharge feedback signal telling the controller
there has been a discharge the volume of sludge and water ejected is
approximately 70% of the volume of the sludge space the sludge space is from
the edge of the disk stack to the edges of the bowl the new stored reference
value can be higher or lower than the previous reference if at any time the
actual value of the transducer moves below the stored reference then the
reference moves and stays at this value this timer runs for 30 seconds the
pressure gauge in the outlet should now recover to 2 bar the reference time is a
stabilizing period at the end of this time
a new reference is taken and stored by the EPC the trigger range is adjusted
accordingly a small amount of conditioning water is added to help with
the next discharge this timeout runs for 25 seconds the pressure gauge in the
outlet should now recover to 2.2 bar when water is being added this is a
sequence of events which safely stops the separator the stopping sequence
begins immediately after the sludge discharge sequence is finished click
this button once to initiate the stopping sequence
the controller enters the beginning of the discharge sequence this has already
been described the only difference at this time is that the third led from the
top flashes yellow this yellow LED is steady when the sludge discharge
sequence is complete displacement water is added this time at runs for 70
seconds MV 10 opens and water goes into the bowl the recirculation valve has
changed position oil is no longer being supplied to the separator displacement
water is being fed into the bowl it pushes out the oil remaining in the bowl
the motor is then stopped separator motor has been stopped this timer runs
for 180 seconds oil is recirculating stop the heater from the EPC make sure
that the oil temperature drops the break should be applied once the EPC displays
off is the temperature falling stop the feed pump at the starter when the
separator has stopped released the brake restart separator restart the separator
for 20 seconds to empty the bowl of remaining liquid closed system valves as
necessary click on the highlighted parts to get the operational check points