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Alternative solutions for marine fuel's composition towards Marine Strategy Directive performance

Abstract

In April 2018, the IMO adopted an ambitious GHG emissions reduction strategy for shipping. It will shape the future fleet decarbonisation pathway and helps to choose alternative fuels and technologies. Methanol as marine fuel leads to drastically reducing sulphur and PM compared to conventional marine fuel. Meanwhile, biodiesel, as sustainable energy source, is characterized by high cetane index, low toxicity, and good biodegradation. Methanol-biodiesel-diesel blends require only limited modification to engines and fuel systems. For this reason, methanol and biodiesel may be well suited partly substitute oil-based fuels in the existing ship fleet. In order to replace the larger portion of fossil compound in marine fuel by components from renewable sources, it is necessary to develop multi-component blends. However, an increase in the proportion of components in a blend could be critical for the final properties of the blend and requires detailed research. The physical-chemical properties of the methanol (up to 30 %), biodiesel (up to 10 %) and diesel components as well as their mixtures have been analysed. It has been found that considering to ISO 8217:2012 standard and environmental requirements a blend with 10 % methanol and 10 % biodiesel is the most suitable alternative for marine applications.