Biofuels are becoming more common in road transport, at least in Europe, and they are poised to enter the air transport sector there. They are not used much yet in shipping. But a recent study by the Dutch research firm Ecofys concludes that biofuels could prove a viable alternative to marine fossil-based fuels.
The study, commissioned by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), shows that the technology is available to replace the fossil fuels used in ship engines with biofuels. Not only would this substantially reduce harmful emissions in the air and water, but it would also improve air quality in port areas and other populated areas around waterways. It could also be more economically advantageous. Fuel may generate up to 50 percent of a ship's operational costs, since fueling can take a long time for large ships with multiple tanks.
The study concluded that the main barriers to marine biofuels are policy and organizational limitations, not technical shortcomings.
According to a European study, biofuels are viable candidates for replacing the fossil-based fuels being used in shipping. (Source: OOCL)
Ecofys researchers examined the technical, economic, sustainability, legal, and organizational aspects of introducing biofuels into shipping. They found that adjustments to the marine fuel supply chain would depend on the type of ship and its engine type, the type of biofuels being introduced, and the fuel's specific blend percentage.
Six major biofuels were examined for different replacement purposes -- biodiesel, dimethyl ether, straight vegetable oil, bio-liquified natural gas (or bio-methane), bio-ethanol, and pyrolysis bio-oil. Biofuels have an overall lower energy density than current marine fuels, and different biofuel types have different densities. Some would require a large amount of modification to become candidates for drop-in marine fuel replacement. The most promising at present are blends with up to 20 percent biodiesel for replacing marine diesel oil or marine gas oil.
Interesting points, William. And good questions. But I stumbled on your comment that cloud computing will end the use of handheld devices. I would think cloud computing would increase the use of handheld devices, since you don't need large devices when your computing power and memory are in the cloud.
I'm going to admit publicly that I don't get it. There are lots of things I don't understand in science, but I don't have a clue as to how to start understanding this. If we are rushing to use biofuels, then CO2 release and Global Warming must not be an issue (unless, maybe it is a Carbon Cycling thing). If Sulfur is a problem, DuPont's IsoTherming Technology for Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Production reduces sulfur to levels normally found in the environment. With new technologies in natural gas and oil shale, our current projected supply of 200-years worth of ground petroleum is increasing daily.
I expect we will no longer be using hand-held computing devices in 10 years due to advances in ubiquitous cloud computing... Why should we be scrambling to insure that we can still use internal combustion technology beyond the year 2212? Somebody please explain.
Given that shipping and transportation makes up such a huge piece of the global economy, it would seem that implementing legislation and incentives to promote biofuels could have a huge impact. What's the downside for shippers transitioning over to the new fuel source? Do tankers and carriers have to be retrofit to accomodate biofuel or is just about hammering out the supply chain, procurement practices, and cost structure for a new fuel source?
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