The Standard Club on Thursday (9 January) said it has published an article elaborating the results of its 2022 Alternative Fuels survey to look one step further – to 2030 and 2050 – and examine the emerging fuels that may feature heavily in the shipping industry’s route to decarbonisation:
Examining emerging fuels
The changing backdrop only ramps up the pressure on shipping to continue its course towards decarbonisation. With the timescale to net-zero potentially set to move forward, shipowners and operators would need to act fast and look beyond the short and mid-term goals and look forward to long-term solutions.
Our 2022 Alternative Fuels survey revealed that methanol and ammonia are at the forefront of members’ thinking when it comes to meeting IMO-2050 targets. So, what benefits do each have to offer, and what challenges may shipowners and operators face, should they choose to adopt one of these emerging fuels?
Methanol
Methanol (CH3OH) is one of the commonly shipped chemical commodities. It is produced from carbon, typically from natural gas and coal. However, carbon can also be sourced from a variety of renewable sources, including ‘biomass’, such as food crops, agricultural waste, forestry residue, used cooking oil and other waste products – supporting methanol’s green credentials.
From a regulatory aspect, the IMO interim guidelines for ships using methyl or ethyl alcohol as fuel (MSC.1/Circ.1621) along with the IGF Code for ships using low-flashpoint fuels provides detailed goal-based and prescriptive requirements for application of methanol as marine fuel.
Methanol has several benefits, including:
However, it also presents a number of challenges:
Ammonia
Ammonia (NH3) is typically created by extracting hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels and combining it with nitrogen extracted from liquified air. Under ambient conditions, it is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent smell.
Essentially, ammonia is a carrier of hydrogen. However, compared to hydrogen, ammonia storage is more practical due to its energy density and liquefaction temperature.
It is currently produced from natural gas but there is potential for carbon capture to reduce the emission footprint (blue ammonia), or for production from renewable sources (green ammonia).
Benefits of ammonia include:
As we highlighted in our previous blogs, members will need to take some key factors into account, regardless of whether they opt for methanol, ammonia, or other potential alternative fuels.
Training personnel onboard and on shore will be critical, as will be continued close collaboration with partners and peers. The shipping industry has traditionally been reluctant to share information, while a lack of clarity and direction has caused some inertia.
To combat this, especially with increasingly stringent deadlines looming on the horizon, members must share innovations, insight, and advice for the benefit of all.
Photo credit: Shaah Shahidh on Unsplash
Published: 12 January, 2023
Discussions around the need to develop methanol bunkering operations are taking place at numerous ports ahead of estimated demand of above 7M mtpa by 2030, says Chris Chatterton of Methanol Institute.
‘Economics of the shipping market will be the key driver enabling methanol to be adopted at a higher pace going forth over next couple years as market begins to return to more normal rates,’ states COO.
Integr8 Fuel injunction varied by Singapore Court to allow former employees to start work at Hartree Group in December 2022 following failure to produce evidence on biofuels development plans.
Variability of sources can affect the stability and performance of biofuel bunkers produced from these feedstocks, in turn leading to difficulties in meeting regulations and industry standards, shares Bryan Quek.
Top three positive movers in 2022 were Bunker House Petroleum Pte Ltd (+7), Eastpoint International Marketing Pte Ltd (+5), and Eng Hua Company (Pte) Ltd (+6); newcomer Sinopec Fuel Oil (Singapore) gets 19th spot.
Livestock carrier also involved in earlier bunker claim with Glander International Bunkering due to remaining unpaid fuel bill of approximately USD 116,000, according to court documents obtained by Manifold Times.