ECA Ships Bunker Fuels

Transcription

1 (19) United State US A1 (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2015/ A1 Buchanan (43) Pub. Date: (54) LOW SULFUR MARINE FUEL (52) U.S. Cl. CPC. CI0L I/08 ( ); CIOL 10/02 ( ); (71) Applicant: Sunoco Partner Marketing & CI0L 2.200/0446 ( ); CIOL 2270/026 Terminal L.P., Phildelphia, PA (US) ( ) (72) Inventor: Keith D. Buchanan, Media, PA (US) (57) ABSTRACT (21) Appl. No.: 14/548,160 The invention pertain marine fuel compoition having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm and method (22) Filed: Nov. 19, 2014 of producing the ame. The low Sulfur marine fuel are com pliant for ue in Sulfur Emiion Control Area beginning Related U.S. Application Data Jan. 1, The compoition comprie a blend of a reidual fuel oil and a ditillate fuel oil. The reidual fuel oil can (60) y Epital R R contitute from about 15% to about 50% by volume of the prov110nal application No. 3O4, Ille final blend and the ditillate fuel oil from about 50% to about on Oct. 6, %. In ome embodiment the reidual fuel oil contain a Publication Claificati vacuum tower bottom component characterized by a flah DCOSSO point of 200 For higher and the ditillate fuel oil an ultra low (51) Int. Cl ulfur dieel component characterized by a flahpoint of 120 cioli/08 ( ) F or higher. Method of producing low ulfur marine fuel CIOL IO/02 (2006,015 comprie blending a reidual fuel oil with a ditillate fuel oil. ECA Ship Bunker Fuel awa Y.M - E. 3&tie &ief&8 & leet S&S8.8 erroreoverreror S -M --- Si&S ied &&. $8: r &FSS388&8883 E.

2 Patent Application Publication Sheet 1 of 2 US 2015/ A1 way --- ECA Ship Bunker Fuel & 8... S& Y.M way 8 S. xxxy 8 8 S *- are SS 8 8 i&s SESS N. XX E. SS: & e 3. FG.

3 Patent Application Publication Sheet 2 of 2 US 2015/ A1 Fici Ga (viethane, Ethane) Lii ('opae, Butane, i-butane Ditiliate Ditilation Eric Fic Product Product Criie : Naptha TCy Catalytic Critic Ci Atmopheric litiation Keee;ct i.e. Crvertei Hime tieating Oiii)ieei Gaoline tieating Oiii)iee - a Finited Keroene aci et Fict Fihed in feating iaid Jiti CW Sift Diee light Wacilia (a } Fittia di Gaoline {cie Ci y acuum Cataly eate ye O x -- facilir - ific - Ditiation Ciacker Corgot:ei Reidual Faci ;Reita Prict yen, Criient Heavy (a Oil Vacuuin wer -->Reidual Fue Ection Aphait 2

4 LOW SULFUR MARINE FUEL RELATED APPLICATIONS The preent application claim priority from U.S. proviional application 62/ filed Jun. 5, 2014 and U.S. proviional application 62/060,362 filed Oct. 6, 2014, both having the ame title and inventorhip. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The invention relate to low ulfur marine fuel com poition and method of producing the ame. In particular the invention relate to low ulfur marine fuel with a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm Background 0005 Dieel engine have been the workhore of the marine indutry ince hortly after the development of the dieel engine by Rudolf Dieel in In particular, four troke dieel engine have been operational in Surface hip and ubmarine ince the Since that time a erie of innovation and improvement have been made to marine dieel engine and to the fuel that can be ued in thoe engine. However, a peritent problem ince the introduction of marine dieel engine i the high Volume of objectionable emiion produced by thee engine and in particular the emiion of ulphur oxide. Recently there ha been wide pread international regulatory effort deigned to reduce the Sulfur emiion from marine engine, epecially cloe to land and citie, where air pollution i a never ending problem In repone to the ulfur emiion problem, and other emiion, an international ISO tandard, ISO 8217, wa etablihed in The tated purpoe of ISO 8217 i to define the requirement for petroleum fuel for ue in marine dieel engine and boiler, prior to appropriate treatment before ue, and i provided for the guidance of intereted partie Such a marine equipment deigner, Supplier and purchaer of marine fuel New regulation and rule adopted by the United Nation pecialized agency, the International Maritime Orga nization (IMO), etablihed tricter control to minimize air borne emiion (SOX, NOx, ODS, VOC) from hip. Spe cifically Annex VI of the 1997 MARPOL Protocol, which came into effect in May 2005, require that by Jan. 1, 2015 marine fuel ued by maritime veel inide Sulfur Emiion Control Area (SECA) or Emiion Control Area (ECA) have a ulfur content of le than 0.01% or 1000 ppm. ECAS contitute around 200 mile of coatal radiu around the US, Wetern Europe and Japan. Such tringent emiion rule require that mot maritime veel, tanker and hip, which operate both outide and inide ECA, ue different fuel oil, depending on their area of operation, in order to comply with the ditinct limit for each. Therefore, there i a need for a commercially available, low cot marine fuel or blend that offer atifactory emiion profile for ue inide and outide ECAS. Specifically, it ha been common for marine engine to be deigned to ue both high ulfur and low ulfur fuel, with high Sulfur fuel being ued during open ea travel and low ulfur fuel being ued during travel in ECAS. Typically the low ulfur fuel are ubtantially more expenive than higher ulfur fuel The ulfur content of a marine fuel depend on the crude oil origin and the refining proce. Sulfur i an unde irable component in fuel ince it caue the releae of ulfur oxide into the atmophere leading to a variety of environ mental iue, uch a acid rain, create corroive combution by-product and increae depoit on fuel injection and com bution ytem. Some Sulfur can be removed during the refining proce. Hydrodeulfurization ( HDS) i the indu try' tandard method of removing unwanted Sulfur com pound in petroleum refining operation and i ometime referred to a hydrotreating. The proce utilize a variety of catalyt to add hydrogen to Sulfur compound. Unfortu nately, the HDS proce typically require expenive, high preure (up to 1,000 pig), high-temperature ( C.) equipment to help produce environmentally compatible fuel Separation of crude oil into it naturally occurring component i performed in a erie of ditillation tower. The yield from a ditillation tower refer to the relative per centage of each of the eparated component, known a prod uct tream, which will vary in content baed on the chemical compoition of the crude oil being proceed. Becaue a liquid boiling point decreae at lower preure, the final ditillation tep are performed in a vacuum to maximize liquid recovery. Product from the ditillation tower range from gae at the top to very heavy, Vicou liquid at the bottom. Vacuum tower bottom (VTB) are the final bottom product of ditillation, which i proceed in coker to be upgraded into gaoline, dieel and ga oil. Importantly, the VTBS are typically highly vicou, high in Sulfur content, and relatively inexpenive. Therefore, it i unlikely that VTB baed fuel oil can be ued within ECAS once reduced Sulfur emiion tandard are enforced. The hydrocarbon product produced by the ditillation proce decribed above can be divided into two broad categorie, the firt being ditillate fuel oil product and the econd being reidual fuel oil product. Typically, ditillate fuel oil product have a low vicoity and low ulfur content, wherea reidual fuel oil product are highly vicou and generally high in Sulfur content A tated above, variou countrie have iued regu lation for Sulfur emiion from marine engine in Emiion Control Area, all deigned to decreae the emiion of Sulfur compound in the exhaut of marine engine. Although the emiion of Sulfur on the high ea outide of ECAS remain largely unregulated, the implementation of new regulation for ECAS preent unique problem to large ocean going hip with engine capable of burning low vicoity, high Sulfur fuel ince thoe hip will be required to change to a cleaner burning fuel within ECAS. The marine engine of particular concern are referred to a Category 3 marine engine, which have been etablihed a the caue of harm to public health and welfare, and contribute to viibility impair ment and other detrimental environmental impact acro the United State and elewhere. Thee engine alo emit air toxin that are aociated with advere health effect In ome intance the marine engine can change from a high ulfur fuel to a low ulfur fuel when they enter ECAS, but in many intance thi i problematic becaue the marine engine are deigned to burn a certain type of fuel and are not capable of changing back and forth between high ulfur and low ulfur fuel. For intance, many of the high Sulfur content fuel are o vicou that they require pre heating before they can be ued. Such preheating i not nec eary, and in fact i undeirable, in the low Sulfur content, higher volatility fuel ued in ECA area. Thu the indutry ha been keptical of the functional capabilitie of blend of

5 ditillate fuel oil product (low vicoity and low ulfur con tent) with reidual fuel oil product (high vicoity and high Sulfur content) Reidual fuel oil refer to a mixture of heavy oil, No. 5 and No. 6 fuel oil, that remain in refinery operation after the ditillate fuel oil and lighter hydrocarbon are di tilled away. It i often ued in large hip, primarily becaue of it low cot. Reidual fuel oil preent ome pecial problem ince it i o vicou and therefore ha to be heated with a pecial heating ytem before ue and becaue it contain relatively high amount of pollutant, particularly Sulfur, which form ulfur dioxide upon combution. A very com mon form of reidual fuel oil ued in maritime application i No. 6 fuel oil, which mut be tored at around 100 F. and heated to F. before it can be eaily pumped, and in cooler temperature it can congeal into a tarry emiolid. Depite thee deficiencie No. 6 fuel oil ha continued to be ued in large ocean going hip becaue of it cheap price. However, with new regulation regarding Sulfur content of marine fuel, the need for an economic, but low cot, marine fuel ha increaed dramatically By way of example, the ulfur content of different ource of No. 6 fuel can vary from -0.3 to +3.5% by weight. The VTB component of thee No. 6 fuel are generally of a imilar ulfur level or marginally higher. The VTB i gener ally blended with lower ulfur ditillate or cutter tock to meet the No. 6 fuel ulfur pecification. Similarly, ultra low ulfur dieel (ULSD) ha an ulfur level of a maximum of 15 ppm. Other low ulfur component (off tet component with S level >15 ppm) can be blended or reproceed (hy drotreated) to meet the finihed ULSD pecification. Againt thi background of commercial need the inventor have developed method and fuel blend that atify the environ mental requirement for marine fuel, pecifically the newly enacted Sulfur requirement, and that, at the ame time, are economic to ue. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The current invention provide method of produc ing compoition of fuel oil with a Sulfur content of le than 1000 ppm. Specifically the current invention provide marine fuel oil with a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm that can by burnt by maritime veel inide ECAS a required by MARPOL Annex VI by Jan. 1, In particular the current invention provide method of producing and compoition of fuel with a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm that comprie mixing blend of reidual fuel oil from about 15% to about 50% and ditillate fuel oil from about 50 to 85% by In particular, the current invention provide a low Sulfur marine fuel compoition having a Sulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm having a blend of a reidual fuel oil and a ditillate fuel oil. In certain embodiment, the reidual fuel oil ha a vacuum tower bottom component and the ditillate fuel oil contain an ultra low ulfur dieel oil (ULSD) component or a ultra low ulfur component. In ome preferred embodiment, the reidual fuel oil contitute from about 15% to about 50% of the final blend and in other embodiment 28% to about 38% by volume of the final blend. In alternate embodiment of the invention, the low ulfur marine fuel contitute ditillate fuel from about 50% to about 85% by volume of the final marine fuel blend and in other preferred embodiment from about 62% to about 72% by In further embodiment of the low ulfur marine fuel of the current invention, the reidual fuel oil can be grade No. 6 fuel oil and/or the ditillate fuel oil can be a grade No. 2 fuel oil. Other embodiment of the invention provide a low ulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm uch that the low ulfur marine fuel contitute a blend of grade No. 2 fuel oil and grade No. 4 fuel oil. In ome embodiment, the low ulfur marine fuel further contain a grade No. 6 fuel oil component. In partial ummary, the low ulfur marine fuel of thi inven tion can comprie a blend of No. 2 fuel oil, No. 4 fuel oil, and No. 6 fuel oil uch that the final blended marine fuel product ha a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm Stated lightly differently, the invention alo include a low Sulfur marine fuel having a Sulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm that can be adapted for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion con trol area. Such a low ulfur marine fuel comprie a blend of from 15% to 50% of a reidual fuel oil containing a vacuum tower bottom component, and from about 50% to about 85% of a ditillate fuel oil component containing an ultra low ulfur dieel oil component. In one variation of thee embodi ment the reidual fuel oil comprie grade No. 6 fuel oil and the ditillate fuel oil comprie grade No. 2 fuel oil The invention alo provide for a low ulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm adapted for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion control area. Such that the low Sulfur marine fuel ha a blend of vacuum tower bottom and ultra low ulfur dieel Furthermore, the current invention alo provide a low ulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm uitable for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion control area, compri ing a blend of a firt hydrocarbon component which include a ditillate fuel oil having an ultra low ulfur dieel compo nent characterized by a flahpoint of 120 F. or higher and a ulfur content of le than about 50 ppm, uch that the firt hydrocarbon component ha about 50% to about 85% by volume of the final marine fuel blend; and a econd hydro carbon component including a reidual fuel oil component having a vacuum tower bottom component characterized by a flahpoint of 200 F. or higher and a ulfur content of 2000 ppm or higher, uch that the econd hydrocarbon component comprie from about 15% to about 50% by volume of the final marine fuel blend; and uch that the final marine fuel blend of the firt and econd hydrocarbon component ha a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm. In certain embodiment, the ulfur content of the vacuum tower bottom i greater than 2300 ppm or may even be greater than 3500 ppm. In further embodiment, the firt hydrocarbon component comprie from 62% to 72% by volume of the final marine fuel blendand the econd hydrocarbon component comprie from 28% to 38% by volume of the final marine fuel blend. In yet further embodiment, the ulfur content of the final blend i le than 1000 ppm and the flahpoint of the final blend i at leat 140 F In addition, the current invention provide a method for producing a low Sulfur marine fuel having a Sulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm, compriing the tep blend ing a reidual fuel oil with a ditillate fuel oil Furthermore, the current invention provide a method for producing a low Sulfur marine fuel having a Sulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm, uitable for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion con

6 trol area, uch that the method include the tep of blending a firt hydrocarbon component with a econd hydrocarbon component wherein the firt hydrocarbon component i a ditillate fuel oil having an ultra low ulfur dieel component and i further characterized by a flahpoint of 100 F. or higher, a Sulfur content of le than about 50 ppm, and com prie from about 50% to about 85% by volume of aid final marine fuel blend; and the econd hydrocarbon component i a reidual fuel oil with a vacuum tower bottom component characterized by a flahpoint of 200 F. or higher, a ulfur content of 2000 ppm or higher and comprie from about 15% to about 50% by volume of the final marine fuel blend, uch that the final marine fuel blend ha a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It being undertood that the figure preented herein hould not be deemed to limit or define the ubject matter claimed herein, the applicant invention may be undertood by reference to the following decription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: 0022 FIG. 1 i a block diagram depicting blending of variou component to yield a finihed ECA fuel that ha le than 1000 ppm ulfur pecification. Component include No. 6 fuel oil, VTB, No. 4 fuel oil and any combination thereof for the heavy, high ulfur portion of the blend. For the lighter ource, low ulfur component including ULSD, ULSD com ponent and low ulfur No. 2 fuel oil FIG. 2 i a block diagram depicting the variou unfinihed product and end product reulting from the di tillation of crude oil. DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 0024 Illutrative embodiment of the invention are decribed below. In the interet of clarity, not all feature of an actual implementation are decribed in thi pecification. The following detailed decription of exemplary embodiment, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, i merely illutrative and i not to be taken a limiting the cope of the invention. Rather, the cope of the invention i defined by the appended claim and equivalent thereof. It will of coure be appreciated that in the development of an actual embodiment, numerou implementation-pecific deciion mut be made to achieve the deign-pecific goal, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that uch a development effort, while poibly complex and time-conuming, would neverthele be a rou tine undertaking for peron of ordinary kill in the art having the benefit of thi dicloure. Further apect and advantage of the variou embodiment of the invention will become apparent from conideration of the following decription and drawing Embodiment of the preent dicloure provide for fuel compoition and mixture having a Sulfur content of le than 0.1 wt.% or 1000 ppm. A a practical matter, the deired final product of thi invention i a hydrocarbon baed fuel that can be ued in marine veel both inide and outide of etablihed Emiion Control Zone, but i functionally effective at a commercially reaonable price. The end product i preferably a blend of a ditillate fuel oil and a reidual fuel oil. Such a product mut be competitive, both functionally and commercially, with current marine fuel, many of which far exceed recently enacted ulfur limitation and other envi ronmental contraint A decribed briefly hereinabove, the baic hydro carbon component of the blended fuel final product of thi invention i crude oil that ha been ditilled in a ditillation tower to eparate the variou hydrocarbon component. In mot ditillation procee the crude oil feedtock i epa rated into at leat ix product tream, each of which can be ued to formulate a deired end product. At the top of the ditillation tower range are typically light end, naphtha, and keroene. The light end are further eparated into propane, normal butane, and iobutene and old a a cooking and heating fuel. Naphtha can be blended into motor gaoline and keroene i generally treated and ued a jet fuel. By com parion to other hydrocarbon component from crude oil, thee material are expenive and Volatile The next ditillation product tream are identified a dieel ditillate, medium ga oil, and heavy ga oil. All of thee product are further treated and then blended or ued a dieel fuel, gaoline or home heating oil. Thee hydrocarbon product are le Volatile and le expenive than the product tream having a lower boiling point, Such a naphtha and keroene. At the bottom of the ditillation tower are the Vacuum Tower Bottom (VTB), which are proceed in Cok er to be upgraded into gaoline, dieel, and ga oil FIG. 2 provide a chematic repreentation of the typical proceing of crude oil into final product. A hown in FIG. 2 crude oil i initially ubjected to atmopheric di tillation reulting i a variety of product uch a fuel ga, LPG, naphtha, keroene/jet fuel, and home heating oil/dieel fuel. All of thee product are conidered to be ditillate fuel product' within the meaning of thi invention and applica tion. All of the ditillate fuel product are potentially ubject to additional proceing in ditillation tower, catalytic reformer, hydro treatment and other well-known hydrocar bon proceing method and apparatu. A dotted line i pro vided in FIG. 2 to eparate the ditillate fuel product from the reidual fuel product A hown in FIG. 2, the crude oil feedtock for reidual fuel product i provided by the bottom of the atmopheric ditillation tower and i referred to a reduced crude oil in FIG.2. The reduced crude oil feedtock i further proceed in a vacuum ditillation tower reulting i product typically identified a light vacuum ga oil, medium or heavy ga oil, and vacuum tower bottom. Thee material are typi cally vicou and high in Sulfur content and are referenced for purpoe of thi patent application a reidual fuel product. The reidual fuel product may be ubject to additional pro ceing tep uch a a fluidized catalytic cracker or other well-known hydrocarbon treatment method and apparatu A hown in Table 1, the reidual fuel product of thi invention are typically more vicou, higher in Sulfur content, and therefore le expenive than ditillate fuel prod uct. In the actual commercial practice of thi invention the reidual fuel product and ditillate fuel product are obtained from commercial vendor and can be prepared in any of a number of method, ome of which are well known, a decribed hereinabove, and ome of which are proprietary to the individual vendor. The particular method of ditilling or otherwie proceing the crude oil feedtock i not conidered to be part of thi invention.

7 0031. For purpoe of thi dicloure it i important to undertand the difference in claification and characteriza tion of fuel oil. Guidance for the claification of fuel oil i found in ASTM Deignation D396-13c, Standard Specifica tion for Fuel Oil, which i hereby incorporated by reference. The ASTM tandard divide fuel oil into grade baed upon the type of burner for which they are uitable. Becaue of the method employed in their production, fuel oil fall into two broad claification: ditillate and reidual. The ditill late conit of overhead or ditilled fraction. The reidual are bottom remaining from the ditillation, or blend of thee bottom with ditillate. Grade No. 1 and 2 fuel oil in the pecification are ditillate, wherea Grade No. 4 to No. 6 are uually reidual, although ome heavy ditillate can be old a Fuel Grade No For the ake of convenience, the definition of the variou grade of fuel oil found in ASTM Deignation D396 13c are reproduced herein. Fuel Oil Grade No. 1 i a middle ditillate intended for ue in burner of the vaporizing type in which the oil i converted to a vapor by contact with a heated Surface or radiation. High Volatility i neceary to enure that evaporation proceed with a minimum of reidue Fuel Oil Grade No. 2 i a middle ditillate omewhat heavier than grade 1. Grade 2 fuel oil i intended for ue in atomizing type burner which pray the oil into a combution chamber where the tiny droplet burn while in upenion. Fuel Oil Grade No. 1 and 2 are typically characterized by very low ulfur content and would be conidered ditillate. 0034) Fuel Oil Grade No. 4 i a heavy ditillate fuel oil or ditillate/reidual fuel blend meeting the ASTM pecification Vicoity range. It i intended for ue both i preure atom izing commercial indutrial burner not requiring higher cot ditillate and in burner equipped to atomize oil of higher Vicoity. It permiible vicoity range allow it to be pumped and atomized at relatively low torage temperature. Thu, in all but extremely cold weather it require no preheat ing for handling Fuel Oil Grade No. 5 i a reidual fuel of interme diate vicoity and i intended for ue in burner capable of handling fuel more vicou than Fuel Oil Grade No. 4 without preheating. Preheating may be neceary in ome type of equipment for burning and in colder climate for handling. Fuel Oil Grade No. 6, ometime referred to a Bunker C, i a high-vicoity oil ued motly in commercial and indutrial heating. It require preheating in the torage tank to permit pumping, and additional preheating at the burner to permit atomizing Fuel Oil Grade No. 6 or Bunker fuel i the type of fuel oil ued in ocean going marine veel, epecially thoe with Category 3 engine. It i well known that reidual fuel oil, uch of Grade 6 Fuel Oil, have to be heated with a pecial heating ytem before ue and that uch fuel contain high amount of pollutant, epecially Sulfur, which form Sulfur dioxide upon combution. However, thee undeirable prop ertie alo make Grade 6 Fuel Oil very inexpenive and there fore deirable for the marine indutry, where outide of Emi ion Control Area, pollution i for the mot part unregulated. A chart containing a comparion of characteritic of reidual fuel oil and ditillate fuel oil i provided: TABLE 1 MARINE MARINE RESIDUAL DISTILLATE PARAMETER UNIT FUEL OIL FUEL OIL Denity Kgm3 96.O Vicoity Mm O Flah Point o C Pour Point o C. O-30 (-6)-6 Sulfur % (m/m) O The preferred marine fuel of thi invention i a blend of a firt hydrocarbon component and a econd hydrocarbon component wherein the final blend ha a ulfur content of 1000 ppm or le. The final blended product i functionally effective in marine dieel engine, epecially Category 3 marine dieel engine, and can be ued both inide and out ide of ECAS. The firt hydrocarbon component i a reidual fuel oil product having a Sulfur content Subtantially in exce of 1000 ppm. The econd hydrocarbon component i a ditil late fuel product having a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm. The ratio in the final blend of the firt hydrocarbon component and the econd hydrocarbon component i uch that the ulfur content of the final blend i 1000 ppm or le The firt hydrocarbon component i preferably a reidual fuel oil product, more particularly a Grade No. 6 fuel oil product, that contain a Subtantial portion of vacuum tower bottom. In the preferred embodiment the firt hydro carbon component comprie from about 15% to about 50% by volume of the final blended product, and in a more pre ferred embodiment from about 35% to about 45% by volume of the final blended product. In one preferred embodiment of the hydrocarbon blend of the invention the firt hydrocarbon component i characterized by a flahpoint of 200 F. or higher and a ulfur content of 2000 ppm or higher The econd hydrocarbon component i preferably a ditillate fuel oil product, more particularly a Grade No. 2 fuel oil product, that contain a Subtantial portion of ultra low ulfur dieel oil. In the preferred embodiment of thi inven tion the econd hydrocarbon component comprie from about 50% to about 85% by volume of the final blended product, and in a more preferred embodiment from about 55% to about 65% by volume of the final blended product. In one preferred embodiment of the hydrocarbon blend of thi invention the econd hydrocarbon component i character ized by a flahpoint of 100 F. or higher and a ulfur content of le than about 50 ppm Any blending proce a known by a killed in the art may be ued. For example in-line tatic mixer, paddle mixer in the tank, etc., or any known proce may be ued. Adequate mixing i important to enure reaching a homoge neou tate. Specifically, the final blended product mut meet the pecification requirement of le than 1000 ppm ulfur content a well a other product pecification that may vary from cutomer to cutomer or product to product. The method of thi invention involve two hydrocarbon Supply tream, the firt hydrocarbon Supply tream compriing a reidual fuel product, and the econd hydrocarbon fuel tream com priing a ditillate fuel oil product, both a defined herein above. A the two hydrocarbon tream are blended in con ventional mixing equipment it i important that the mixing proce and equipment reult in a homogeneou blended product. In ome intance it will be neceary to preheat the reidual fuel product in order to facilitate it mixing with the ditillate fuel oil product to form a homogeneou final

8 blended fuel oil product. However, in mot intance preheat ing of the reidual fuel product tream will not be neceary if the mixing equipment i appropriately ized, deigned, and powered to permit homogeneou mixing of the two hydro carbon Supply tream. Example The following paper blending experiment examined how much ULSD i required to meet a maximum of 1000 ppm Sulfur content. Thi repreent a cenario baed on Sulfur level in vacuum tower bottom a low a 2300 ppm blended with ULSD at 15 ppm. The reultant product i at <1000 ppm ulfur repreenting at 42% VTB and 58% ULSD blend. VTB ULSD Sulfur, ppm Flah, F Sulfur, ppm Flah, F Volume 42% Volume S8% Final Blend Etimate Sulfur, ppm 979 Flah, F. 148 Example The following paper blending experiment examined how much ULSD i required to meet a maximum of 1000 ppm Sulfur content. Thi repreent a cenario baed on Sulfur level in vacuum tower bottom a high a 4500 ppm blended with ULSD at 15 ppm. The reultant product i at <1000 ppm ulfur repreenting at 42% VTB and 58% ULSD blend. VTB ULSD Sulfur, ppm Flah, F Sulfur, ppm Flah, F Volume 21% Volume 79% Final Blend Etimate Sulfur, ppm 957 Flah, F. 139 Flah etimate borderline whether it will meet SOLAS 140F. min. Will depend on VTB flah Example The following i a paper example of a blended prod uct in accordance with the teaching of thi invention. Specifi cally, product information regarding the reidual fuel and ditillate fuel component were obtained and were calculated to reflect a potential preferred commercial product. The blended product reulted in a final product having le than 0.1 wt % ulfur by weight and atified the requirement for an ECA fuel inaccordance with the current invention. Similar reult may be obtained with a range of blend uing from around 58 to 82 percent by volume ULSD with around 18 to 42 percent by volume VTB. A variety of additional criteria were evaluated for the blended product with the reult cal culated being reflected in the chart below. The tet performed are all well known in the energy indutry and would be known to peron of ordinary kill in the relevant art. Method Tet Reult Unit SO API Gravity, 60 F o F. SO Denity (a) 15 C Kg/m3 SO 3104 Vicoity, (a) 40 C cst SO 3104 Vicoity, (a) 50 C cst SO 8754 Sulfur <0.1 Wt 96 SO 2719 Flah Point >60 o C. SO 3O16 Pour Point <-20 o C. SO 3733 Water by Dit. <O.OS Wo% SO 6245 Ah <0.03 Wt 90 SO Total Sediment by Hot O.O1 Wto filtration P 570 Hydrogen Sulfide <1 mg/kg ASTM D664 Acid Number <1.0 mg KOH.g SO Micro Carbon O.O4 Wto Reidue SO Lubricity 18O-260 um Calculated CCAI PSO1 Vanadium <5 ppm Wt PSO1 Sodium <5 ppm Wt PSO1 Aluminum <2O ppm Wt PSO1 Silicon <25 ppm Wt PSO1 Calcium <25 ppm Wt PSO1 PSO1 Zinc Phophoru <3 <1 ppm Wt ppm Wt SO 1220S Oxidation Stability <25 g/m It will be undertood by one of ordinary kill in the art that in general any Subet or all of the variou embodi ment and inventive feature decribed herein may be com bined, notwithtanding the fact that the claim et forth only a limited number of uch combination. 1. A low ulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm, aid low ulfur marine fuel com priing a blend of a reidual fuel oil and a ditillate fuel oil, wherein aid reidual fuel oil comprie grade No. 6 fuel oil and wherein aid ditillate fuel oil comprie grade No. 2 fuel oil. 2. (canceled) 3. (canceled) 4. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 1 wherein aid reidual fuel oil comprie from about 15% to about 50% by 5. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 1, wherein aid reidual fuel oil comprie from about 28% to about 38% by 6. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 1 wherein aid ditillate fuel oil comprie from about 50% to about 85% by 7. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 1 wherein aid ditillate fuel oil comprie from about 62% to about 72% by 8. (canceled) 9. (canceled) 10. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 1, further compri ing grade No. 4 fuel oil. 11. (canceled) 12. A low ulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm, aid low ulfur marine fuel being adapted for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion control area, aid low Sulfur marine fuel com priing a blend of from 15% to 50% of a reidual fuel oil, aid reidual fuel oil comprie grade No. 6 fuel oil, and from about 50% to about 85% of a ditillate fuel oil component, aid ditillate fuel oil comprie grade No. 2 fuel oil, wherein aid low ulfur marine fuel ha a Pour Point of le than -20 C. an API gravity value of about

9 13. (canceled) 14. (canceled) 15. (canceled) 16. A low ulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm, aid low ulfur marine fuel being Suitable for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion control area, aid low Sulfur marine fuel com priing a blend of: (a) a firt hydrocarbon component compriing a ditillate fuel oil having an ultra low Sulfur dieel component, aid ultra low ulfur dieel being characterized by a flah point of 120 F. or higher and a ulfur content of le than about 50 ppm, wherein aid firt hydrocarbon compo nent comprie from about 50% to about 85% by volume of aid final marine fuel blend; and (b) a econd hydrocarbon component compriing a reidual fuel oil having a vacuum tower bottom com ponent, aid vacuum tower bottom being characterized by a flahpoint of 200 F. or higher and a ulfur content of 2000 ppm or higher, wherein aid econd hydrocar bon component comprie from about 15% to about 50% by volume of the final marine fuel blend; and wherein the final marine fuel blend of aid firt and econd hydrocarbon component ha a Sulfur content of le than 1000 ppm. 17. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 16 wherein the Sulfur content of aid vacuum tower bottom of aid econd hydrocarbon component i greater than 2300 ppm. 18. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 16 wherein the Sulfur content of aid vacuum tower bottom of aid econd hydrocarbon component i greater than 3500 ppm. 19. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 16 wherein the firt hydrocarbon component comprie from 62% to 72% by Volume of aid final marine fuel blend and wherein aid econd hydrocarbon component comprie from 28% to 38% by volume of aid final marine fuel blend. 20. The low ulfur marine fuel of claim 16 wherein the ulfur content of the final marine fuel blend i le than 1000 ppm and the flahpoint of the final blend i at leat 140 F. 21. A method for producing a low Sulfur marine fuel having a ulfur content of le than or equal to 1000 ppm, aid low ulfur marine fuel being uitable for ue in Category 3 marine dieel engine operating in emiion control area, aid method compriing the tep of blending a firt hydrocarbon component with a econd hydrocarbon component wherein aid firt hydrocarbon component comprie a ditillate fuel oil having an ultra low Sulfur dieel component, aid ultra low ulfur dieel being characterized by a flah point of 100 F. or higher and a ulfur content of le than about 50 ppm, and wherein aid firt hydrocarbon com ponent comprie from about 50% to about 85% by Volume of aid final blend; and aid econd hydrocarbon component comprie a reidual fuel oil having a vacuum towerbottom component, aid vacuum tower bottom being characterized by a flah point of 200 F. or higher and a ulfur content of 2000 ppm or higher, wherein aid econd hydrocarbon com ponent comprie from about 15% to about 50% by Volume of the final marine fuel blend; wherein the final marine fuel blend of aid firt and econd hydrocarbon component ha a ulfur content of le than 1000 ppm.