Photo: Marubeni
Vessels such as tankers and carriers are rarely in the spotlight, and that’s mostly when something bad happens, like one of them getting stuck somewhere. But shipping is responsible for a significant percentage of the global toxic emissions while also being notoriously difficult to decarbonize. These two factors contribute to tankers and carriers becoming more interesting for the general public because they get to test some innovative alternative fuels or propulsion systems.
LNG (Liquified Natural Gas), green ammonia, hydrogen, and biofuel are some options currently being explored in various shipping sectors. In addition, many vessels powered by a hybrid propulsion system are also being built in various parts of the world.
Marubeni, a Japanese logistics provider, claims to have accomplished a pioneering task – the world’s first ethylene transport via a ship powered by biofuel. At the beginning of this year, Marubeni announced that it had joined forces with ethylene producer Eneos to develop an eco-friendly solution for this type of transportation.
The result was a new carrier vessel called GasChem Dollart. Unfortunatelly, no technical details about the ship are available, but what’s important to know is that it recently completed the world’s first ethylene transport, using only biofuel.
The voyage took place from Vlissingen, in the Netherlands, to Morgan's Point, Texas. The biofuel that was used for this voyage was supplied by BP Europa SE - BP Nederland. It’s a blend of FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) with VLSFO (very low sulfur fuel oil).
Made from recycled cooking oils, as well as oil from renewable sources, FAME is linked to significant GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, and it’s blended in order to be used as a drop-in maritime biofuel, meaning that no modifications to the ship are needed.
The goal of this trial voyage was to confirm that the use of biofuel wouldn’t lead to any technical issues. According to Marubeni, both combustibility and stability were checked, and the results are promising.
The two companies plan to kick off eco-friendly ethylene deliveries using this type of biofuel as soon as 2024.
Marubeni, a Japanese logistics provider, claims to have accomplished a pioneering task – the world’s first ethylene transport via a ship powered by biofuel. At the beginning of this year, Marubeni announced that it had joined forces with ethylene producer Eneos to develop an eco-friendly solution for this type of transportation.
The result was a new carrier vessel called GasChem Dollart. Unfortunatelly, no technical details about the ship are available, but what’s important to know is that it recently completed the world’s first ethylene transport, using only biofuel.
The voyage took place from Vlissingen, in the Netherlands, to Morgan's Point, Texas. The biofuel that was used for this voyage was supplied by BP Europa SE - BP Nederland. It’s a blend of FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) with VLSFO (very low sulfur fuel oil).
Made from recycled cooking oils, as well as oil from renewable sources, FAME is linked to significant GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, and it’s blended in order to be used as a drop-in maritime biofuel, meaning that no modifications to the ship are needed.
The goal of this trial voyage was to confirm that the use of biofuel wouldn’t lead to any technical issues. According to Marubeni, both combustibility and stability were checked, and the results are promising.
The two companies plan to kick off eco-friendly ethylene deliveries using this type of biofuel as soon as 2024.
Google News