Shipping giants on JV to test biofuel in marine engines
Shipping giants Maersk and Lloyd’s Register are joining forces with the Dutch government and other specialist contractors to test the performance of a mix of biodiesel in marine engines in a number of trials.
The trials will test for possible difficulties that could be encountered by the liners.
Processed from renewable sources that can be grown in temperate climates, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) has some obvious advantages. However various studies have been conducted with FAME by the automotive industry and produced differing results.
The results of the trials are particularly significant to liner shipping company Maersk as it aims to reduce its carbon output by 20% per container by 2017.
Trials will begin with FAME being examined on board the Maersk Kalmar container ship. A 5% FAME blend will be tested first, before the percentage is increased.
Kim Tanneberger, a biodiesel specialist at Lloyd’s Register’s Strategic Research Group (SRG), said: ‘One of the aims of the tests is to establish the degree to which issues experienced by the automotive industry in the use of FAME will be duplicated on board ship, in particular the impact on storage stability, handling and its subsequent use in the engine.’
The trials will test for possible difficulties that could be encountered by the liners.
Processed from renewable sources that can be grown in temperate climates, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) has some obvious advantages. However various studies have been conducted with FAME by the automotive industry and produced differing results.
The results of the trials are particularly significant to liner shipping company Maersk as it aims to reduce its carbon output by 20% per container by 2017.
Trials will begin with FAME being examined on board the Maersk Kalmar container ship. A 5% FAME blend will be tested first, before the percentage is increased.
Kim Tanneberger, a biodiesel specialist at Lloyd’s Register’s Strategic Research Group (SRG), said: ‘One of the aims of the tests is to establish the degree to which issues experienced by the automotive industry in the use of FAME will be duplicated on board ship, in particular the impact on storage stability, handling and its subsequent use in the engine.’
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