Methanol a dark horse in 'alternative fuel' race?

IT IS almost inconceivable anybody in the shipping industry is still unaware that the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) global 0.50 per cent sulphur-in-fuel cap comes into force in less than a year.

But, just in case anybody is still living in blissful ignorance, on Jan 1, 2020 it will no longer be possible to use residual fuel oil, commonly referred to as heavy fuel oil (HFO), which has long been the standard fuel for the commercial fleet without the use of scrubbers. Sulphur has been identified as a serious pollutant, and HFO generally has relatively high levels of sulphur.

For some time, there have been IMO-designated Emission Control Areas (ECA) around parts of Northern Europe and North America, where a strict 0.10 per cent sulphur limit applies. From January next year, ECAs will still be in place with that very low limit while 0.50 per cent will apply to the rest of the world.

An increasing number of shipowners are fitting scrubbers that remove the sulphur from the emission stream. But the proportion of the merchant fleet fitted with this technology, while increasing rapidly, remains low.

A very few shipowners have taken delivery of LNG-fuelled vessels. In the next few years, LNG looks set to become more important but probably not the dominant fuel.

So, come the deadline, most shipping companies will have to switch to a distillate fuel. In most cases, that will be marine gas oil (MGO), or one of the blended fuels that have been developed by the oil companies and will be cheaper than MGO, but more expensive than HFO.

There are, though, eight large commercial ships that have switched a different fuel, one which so far has attracted only limited attention in shipping circles.

In the longer term, there is a need for alternative fuels that contribute far less, if at all, to global warning. A lot of work is going on around the world to develop such fuels.

As mentioned in Strait Talk in July 2018, one promising fuel for the long term is methanol. Most potential alternative fuels have the backing of an organised lobby promoting its use. The Methanol Institute (MI) represents methanol producers, distributors and technology companies from offices in Singapore and in Washington, Brussels and Beijing.

GreenPilot project

Now the MI is backing a project at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to carry out the first evaluation of methanol as a marine fuel in Asia. The project links into the GreenPilot evaluation programme already underway in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The GreenPilot project demonstrated that it is feasible to convert a pilot boat to methanol operation using available technology. Spark-ignited engines with port-injected methanol were found to have engine efficiency similar to diesel engines.

Emissions reductions were substantial compared to conventional fuel oil. There is no sulphur in methanol and NOx emissions were reduced so that the engine could meet new "Tier III" standards.

Particulate emissions from combustion were 99 per cent lower than those from conventional fuel oil, and when methanol from fossil-free feedstock is used, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced significantly.

The engine used in the GreenPilot project will be shipped to Singapore for use in a harbour craft vessel for a six-month sea trial, followed by an engine "teardown" to test clearances and material compatibility.

The project is expected to cost S$200,000. That is not big money when it comes to developing new fuels, and will cover the installation of the engine, bunkering, training and subsequent sea trials. The MI says that the data collected will help fill some knowledge gaps concerning fuel efficiency and methanol's viability as marine fuel.

"For maritime players in Singapore, the project will be a useful demonstration of the benefits of methanol as a marine fuel, encouraging them to consider it as an alternative fuel once they gain a better understanding," says MI's chief operating officer Chris Chatterton.

"The GreenPilot project together with others such as the Summeth (Sweden) and Methaship (Germany) projects, have shown that methanol can be easily adopted as a marine fuel at reasonable cost and without the complexity of other low emission alternatives."

What exactly "reasonable cost" means will be an important factor when MI tries to sell the idea of switching to this new fuel.

While the NTU project involves harbour craft, methanol can be used to fuel the engines of large ships. It is now being used by seven tankers operated by Waterfront Shipping and the ropax ferry Stena Germanica.

"The maritime industry is increasingly looking for more sustainable solutions to help deliver targeted emissions reductions, and the prospect of renewable methanol offers a future-proof answer," says Mr Chatterton.

"Methanol-fuelled ships can already use existing fuel tanks or even ballast water tanks for storage, thereby lowering the investment risks of newbuilding or conversion, and the regulatory landscape is also moving in methanol's direction."

We are still in the early stages of methanol's development, but if it turns out to be as easy to convert existing ships as MI says, and if the price is right, methanol could be the dark horse in this race.