Marine fuel of the future. Comparison and prospects. Veselov, Gennady Vasilievich - Calculation of the efficiency of using alternative fuels on ships: guidelines The use of alternative fuels on ships

100 years after abandoning sailboats altogether, shipbuilders are turning to wind power again in an attempt to reduce fuel costs.
Here are a few transport ship projects that use alternative sources to deliver cargo.

Eco Marine Power - solar panels work like sails

EMP is an innovative company that applies new technologies to the design and construction sea ​​vessels. The company's engineers and researchers have set themselves the goal of developing more environmentally friendly engines for marine and river transport, in order to reduce both traditional energy sources and the harm caused by their use to the environment.

Instead of traditional sails, they used controlled solar panels. Firstly, their large area and the presence of a controlled rotating mechanism will allow the panels to be used as regular sails. And secondly, accumulated during the voyage Electric Energy will be used to power the engines when maneuvering the ship in port.

The rotating system of each solar panel allows you to position it perfectly in the wind or remove it completely in bad weather. When folded horizontally, the solar panels will still have their active surfaces facing sunlight and will additionally charge the on-board batteries.

EMP representatives claim that the rigidity and reliability of the design of their high-tech sails can withstand even very strong storms at sea, and therefore the ship will remain afloat and move on the approved course even when conventional sailing ships cannot. In addition, new sails require minimal maintenance.
EMP engineers have calculated that equipping a conventional ship with such unique sails will reduce fuel consumption by 20%, and if the ship is also equipped with additional electric motors, then the consumption will be reduced by almost half - by about 40%.

Having reached more than 30 rubles per liter of AI-92 gasoline at the vast majority of gas stations. In addition, experts predict that further increases in gasoline prices are inevitable, which naturally leads one to wonder what alternatives there might be to gasoline (and diesel) cars.

Let's take a look at some statistics on petroleum fuel prices:

Dynamics of price growth for AI-92 gasoline

Dynamics of diesel fuel price growth

Statistics on gasoline prices in various countries

Well, as it turns out, there are many such alternatives. And many of them are on the road to creation or even in dealer centers right now. While some alternatives will take some time to reach mainstream use, it's still interesting to know what companies are working on today that care about what cars drive in the future... For the foreseeable future future.

So, what alternative fuels exist today?

Hydrogen

Using hydrogen to fuel your car may conjure up images of the Hindenburg, but it's actually quite safe. Hydrogen may actually be present as a fuel as such in two various types cars: cars with fuel cells in the form of hydrogen and cars that have an internal combustion engine that is designed to use hydrogen instead of gasoline.

In the first case, hydrogen is used to generate electricity, which is then used to power an electric motor. So a hydrogen car uses a fuel cell to generate its own electricity. In the chemical process in a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are combined to create electricity, and the only byproduct of this process is water vapor. This technology is already used in the Honda FCX Clarity, and the car is currently receiving higher ratings.

In an internal combustion engine, hydrogen is the fuel source instead of the usual gasoline or diesel fuel. Instead of the harmful CO 2 emissions that gasoline produces, again, hydrogen cars only produce water vapor. Many automakers are currently testing hydrogen cars. Currently, BMW's Hydrogen 7 is perhaps the best known of these - the company has rented out several prototypes of the machines in Germany and the US, and some tests have even shown that the car actually cleans the air around it while running.

However, hydrogen cars have not yet achieved widespread adoption, largely because the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen refueling stations does not exist today. But the next type of alternative fuel is somewhat easier to find - and in fact, you are using it right now.

Electricity

It may seem that electric cars are a long-awaited breakthrough in the use of alternative fuels. But the fact is that some of the earliest cars already used electric motors. However, it is only due to recent events, including widespread adoption as a result of an aggressive PR campaign for Tesla vehicles, that electric cars have become a more viable method for everyday driving.

But what is holding the technology back from reaching the masses? Battery and motor technology. Moving a car takes a lot of energy, and doing so at high speeds and long distances requires a lot of energy. In the past, electric cars could not travel long distances (more than a few kilometers), and once their batteries ran low, it took long hours to recharge them. The fact is that the electric motor itself is quite voracious in terms of electricity consumption. Add to this the enormous weight of the battery itself (in a modern electric car it can account for half the weight of the entire car), and the disadvantages of this type of alternative fuel become quite significant.

However, with new battery technologies, some automakers have overcome such limitations. The new batteries (lithium-ion batteries to be precise) are the same as those installed in your cellular telephone or laptop. They charge fairly quickly and last longer. And cars like the Tesla Model S use them not just for physical movement, but for supercar-worthy performance. Other cars that are also gaining a foothold in the market, such as the Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius, for example, use these types of batteries in combination with an internal combustion engine to create new class a vehicle with an extended range of use of the source of movement. The batteries can be charged by connecting the machine to a regular outlet; however, when the battery begins to run low, the gasoline generator kicks in to recharge it and keep the car from stalling.

Biodiesel

We hope you have heeded the advice that a low-fat diet with limited fried foods is good for your health. However, the same is not necessarily true for your car.

Biodiesel is a type of fuel that is produced from vegetable oil. Any car with a diesel engine can run on it, but do not try to start the engine by squeezing a napkin left over from your last visit to McDonald's into the fuel tank. In order to power a car, the oil must be converted into biodiesel through a certain chemical process.

The process itself can actually be done at home. In fact, many biodiesel enthusiasts make their own fuel using vegetable oil from local restaurants. However, there is little risk associated with this process. If you do it wrong, you can do a lot of damage to your car (not to mention your home and own safety). Before attempting to make biodiesel using any recipe you find, make sure it is good idea, after practicing for a while with someone who has already done it successfully.

However, biodiesel enthusiasts are really happy with the idea. Not only is this fuel significantly cheaper and cleaner than fossil diesel, it will also make your car's exhaust smell like French fries... No joke!

Ethanol

Now you know that you can start a car even on vegetable oil, but what if you really don’t like driving around a city that smells like fries or you have an allergy or unpleasant associations with this smell? What are the other options? In fact, there are other options to make your car run on vegetables.

Ethanol is also one of the most common alternative fuels. It is often added to gasoline in summer time to help reduce harmful emissions. Ethanol is actually a type of alcohol (but don't even think about trying to drink it) made from plant material. In the United States, it is usually made from corn, while in other countries, such as Brazil, it is made from sugar cane.

Today, quite a few automakers offer their cars with multi-fuel engines. These engines can run on traditional gasoline or an E85 ethanol fuel blend where the fuel is 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol. Ethanol has become widely accepted as good way to reduce the price of gasoline in countries where oil is purchased from other countries - a prime example of this is the United States. However, it takes quite a lot of energy to produce ethanol, so where oil is cheaper because it is produced domestically (Russia is one of those countries), ethanol is not particularly profitable. Additionally, there is an unusual belief that since farmers can earn more money By growing crops for ethanol production, they will stop growing those crops for food, which could dramatically raise food prices.

Despite these concerns, ethanol today offers many benefits as an alternative fuel, and the network of ethanol filling stations continues to grow in a number of countries.

Liquefied natural gas

Continuing the culinary theme, we note the following alternative type of fuel, which, however, is not produced from food products, but it can also be found in the kitchen. Unlike ethanol and biodiesel, it's not something you could eat or drink in its original form, but it's what top chefs use to cook: natural gas.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel. Yes, this is not a completely environmentally friendly product, but as a result of its use in cars, it produces slightly less harmful emissions. Natural gas, which you often use to cook food and heat your home, is natural gas at very low pressure so that it is liquefied to provide much more energy while taking up less space. When liquefied natural gas (LNG) is burned, it releases much more energy. So, for example, instead of simply heating soup - uncompressed natural gas does a great job of that - liquefied natural gas can power large equipment such as a truck. In general, this is the main purpose for which it is used - powering heavy trucks traveling long distances.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

If you've been on a picnic recently, then you're probably familiar with our next alternative fuel: liquefied petroleum gas (or simply LPG). Still not sure you've ever seen this? Well, then remember gas burners with propane canisters or cargo gazelles with a red propane canister instead of a gas tank!

Propane is common name for liquefied petroleum gas, although this is not entirely true. Liquefied petroleum gas is a low pressure hydrocarbon gas. It consists primarily of propane, but also includes other hydrocarbon gases, most notably butane. Liquefied petroleum gas is stored under pressure in order to remain in liquid form. Like liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) provides much more energy while being dense, and therefore becomes more useful for powering cars and trucks.

Liquefied gas works in an ordinary internal combustion engine after very minor modifications (this is correctly called installing LPG on a car - adapting the car to use propane). While this type of fuel is not widely used for automobiles in many countries, such as the United States, for example, in a number of countries, up to 10 percent of automobile fuel use is liquefied petroleum gas, and our country is one of the leaders in this regard use of the CIS.

Compressed natural gas

The last of three alternative fuels that have similar names and are easily confused is compressed natural gas (CNG), which is dominated by methane.

Compressed natural gas is the same fuel that can be used in your home for cooking and heating, and it works in your home. In the case of a vehicle, CNG is also stored in high pressure cylinders. And this is another modification of gaseous fossil fuel, which is the most environmentally friendly, producing the least CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere with similar performance indicators, but at the same time it is also one of the most bulky - it compresses the least when it is cooled under low pressure, occupying much more space in the car than the previous two types of alternative fuel.

Compressed air

Air is everywhere, so why not use it as fuel for your car? And, although this seems like a crazy idea, because air simply does not burn, cars can still run on compressed air.

In this type of machine, air is compressed in high-pressure pipes. While a typical engine uses air mixed with gasoline (or diesel), which is then ignited by a spark (or high pressure In the case of diesel) to generate power, a compressed air engine uses the expansion of compressed air coming from a high pressure pipe to drive the engine pistons.

However, compressed air vehicles do not run entirely on this very air. Electric motors are also present on board the machine to compress the air, only then sending it into the high pressure pipes of the car. However, these cars cannot be considered fully electric cars, mainly because the electric motors do not directly power the car by driving its wheels. Electric motors are much smaller than those used in electric cars, where the main function of the motor is to propel the car. Therefore, compressed air vehicles consume much less energy than electric vehicles.

A liquid nitrogen

Liquid nitrogen is another alternative to petroleum products. Like hydrogen, nitrogen is found in abundance in our atmosphere. Plus, like hydrogen, nitrogen-powered cars produce far fewer harmful emissions than gasoline or diesel. But while hydrogen is used in car fuel cells as well as internal combustion engines, liquid nitrogen cars require a very different type of engine altogether.

In fact, liquid nitrogen uses a motor similar to the motor used in a pneumatic machine. In such an engine, nitrogen is stored in a liquefied state under enormous pressure. To power the car, nitrogen is released into the engine, where it is heated and expanded to create energy. While a typical gasoline or diesel engine uses combustion to drive pistons, a liquid nitrogen engine uses the expansion of nitrogen to power power turbines.

Being environmentally friendly and effective way powering a vehicle, liquid nitrogen faces the same obstacles as many other alternative fuels: the lack of a nationwide network of gas stations to deliver it to consumers.

Coal

Another alternative fuel on our list may come as a surprise, and many may think that it is quite an outdated type of fuel.

Technically, coal is a relatively new alternative fuel for cars - indirectly, one way or another, because everything new is well forgotten old, although some trains are still powered by coal. However, in the 21st century, owners won't have to shovel buckets of coal into combustion plants, if that's what you immediately thought of.

At the same time, like an electric motor when a car is powered by compressed air, coal does not directly power the engine. Let's get this out of the way: electric vehicles (for the most part) do not produce their own electricity. They carry energy in their charged batteries. And the batteries get their charge from a standard outlet, which receives potential energy from a power plant, which in turn gets its power... from burning coal in most cases. In fact, 50 percent of the world's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. This means that when you go down the energy chain, many electric cars are actually essentially coal-powered cars.

While coal has similar disadvantages to gasoline, it also has some advantages. Per kilometer driven, electricity from coal is a cheaper way to power a car than gasoline. In addition, many countries have large reserves of coal - much more than gasoline. In addition, people who receive electricity from other sources such as hydroelectric power plants or nuclear power plants, pollute the atmosphere even less.

Solar energy

Just say this wonderful name out loud: “solar car”! A solar car is essentially a conventional electric car powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the car. However, solar panels cannot currently be used to directly power a vehicle's engine due to insufficient power, but they can be used to extend the power range and save electricity from the batteries of such electric vehicles.

Dimethyl ether

Dimethyl ether (DME) is a promising alternative fuel in diesel engines, gasoline engines and gas turbines due to its high cetane number (analogous to the octane number of gasoline, which determines the quality of fuel combustion when it is compressed), which is 55 units compared to 40- 53 units for diesel fuel. However, very small changes are required to convert a diesel engine to a dimethyl ether engine. Due to the low amount of harmful emissions, DME meets the most stringent toxicity standards in Europe (Euro-5).

DME is being developed as a second-generation synthetic biofuel (BioDME), which can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass, and is currently most actively used by the automaker Volvo.

Ammonia

Ammonia gas engines were used as early as World War II to power buses in Belgium. Liquid ammonia also feeds a number rocket engines worldwide. Although not as powerful or high-performing as other fuels, ammonia does not leave soot in reusable engines, and its density is approximately the same as that of an oxidizer.

Ammonia has long been proposed as a practical alternative to fossil fuels for internal combustion engines. The calorific value of ammonia is 22.5 MJ/kg, which is about half the calorific value of diesel fuel. Ammonia can be used in existing engines with fairly minor modifications to the carburetors or injectors.

However, the main disadvantage of ammonia remains, of course, its high toxicity.

water vapor

This is essentially an extinct steam car that has a steam engine, and it also actually runs on other types of fuel, which form this very water vapor. Ethanol, coal and even wood are used as fuel. The fuel is burned in the boiler and the heat converts the water into steam. When water turns into steam, it expands. The expansion creates pressure that pushes the pistons, which in turn causes the driveshaft to rotate.

Steam cars require a very long time between starting work and driving such a car, but some of them can reach quite high speed- more than 160 km/h in the end. Thus, the most successful cars began to move after starting in about half a minute to a minute.

A steam engine uses external combustion as opposed to internal combustion engines. Gasoline powered cars are more efficient at around 25-28% efficiency. But this is all in theory, practical examples Steam engines are only about 5-8% efficient compared to conventional internal combustion engines.

Human muscular strength

Oh yes, this is the most ineffective and not simply unviable type of alternative fuel! However, in very small quantities Vehicle, for which demand is rapidly decreasing, human power is being used to improve the efficiency of batteries, which are the main source of propulsion of the car. Two such commercial vehicles that saw the light of day were the Sinclair C5 and the Twike.

Seaweed

Biofuels obtained from algae are called third generation biofuels - this is relatively the new kind alternative fuel. Essentially, the operating principle of an algae engine is based on the rotting of these algae, which results in the release of methane, which is used as the main fuel to propel the car.

In the United States, it was calculated that approximately 200 hectares of ponds in which a certain type of algae would be grown, which is best suited for powering cars, could provide up to 5% of all cars in the country with such fuel. However, this technology did not take root in the United States due to the comparatively lower cost of oil and high requirements such algae to grow (high temperature and certain environment).

Alternative fuels: comparison

Consumption of alternative fuels for 2011

PROJECT OF A GAS FUEL VESSEL

Moscow 2011 .

Performers:

Leading designer (b. 1984)

Design engineer (b. 1984)

Design technician (b. 1989)

Topic leader:

Director of Scientific and Production Center "Rechport", Assoc. A. K, Tatarenkov

Essay

The report contains 13 pages of text, 1 table, 5 figures, 1 source

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, RE-EQUIPMENT OF THE POWER INSTALLATION OF THE PROJECT P51 MOTOR SHIP, COMPRESSED AND LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (METHANE).

Object of development: inland navigation ships with alternative fuels, i.e. the possibility of using two gas fuel options on ships: compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas.

Purpose of the work: Prospective use of gas fuel for new generation river vessels.

The result obtained: the prospect of using a marine power plant (SPP) running on gas fuel on river vessels is given, in particular, a fundamental decision on the layout of gas equipment on “P” class vessels of the P51 project.

The high cost of diesel fuel forces shipowners to resolve the issue of finding alternative types of fuel and converting some groups of ships to them.

Due to the trend of Moscow becoming an environmentally friendly city, there are no large air masses in the Moscow transport hub to disperse harmful emissions. In this regard, in order to increase the competitiveness of water transport compared to other modes of transport, it is necessary to identify a priority area related to reducing the toxicity of exhaust gases.

One of these areas is the translation of ships power plants for working from diesel fuel to gas. At the same time, it is necessary to highlight the possibility of using two types of gas fuel on ships: compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas.

The project proposes to convert existing inland navigation vessels to gas fuel, as well as to build new vessels using gas fuel.

A technical and economic study of the efficiency of using liquefied and compressed natural gas on river vessels of the Moscow water basin was carried out at VNIIGaz and at the Department of Marine power plants Moscow State Academy of Water Transport [Report on research work on topic VI/810. M., MGAVT, 1997. Re-equipment of the power plant of river motor ships of urban lines in the Moscow region (using the example of the motor ship of the R-51 "Moscow" project) to operate on compressed natural gas], which showed the feasibility of using gas on river fleet vessels.

In 1998, the Moscow State Academy of Water Transport re-equipped the power plant of the passenger motor ship “Uchebny-2” of project R51E (Moscow type) to run on compressed gas. The re-equipment was carried out according to the shipbuilding center project, developed in relation to ships of projects P35 (Neva) and P51 (Moscow).

Experimental studies have shown direct economic benefits from using gas. At the same time, the need was identified for installing additional alarm sensors that notify about a gas leak and, in the presence of a leak, send a signal to automatically switch the system to operate on diesel fuel.

Despite many positive sides the use of compressed and liquefied gas, the main disadvantage of such systems should be noted. First of all, this is the loss of useful space on the promenade deck (on the m/v "Uchebny-2"

32 compressed gas cylinders with a volume of 50 liters each were installed) for ships operating on compressed gas, which indicates the advantage of liquefied gas. The next disadvantage is the lack of requirements of the Russian River Register Rules for ships having installations of the above type, and, of course, the main limiting factor is the lack of a network of gas filling stations. And if for road transport This network is developing, then for water transport, characterized by the presence of large capacities and the length of transportation lines, this issue remains relevant.

The above, of course, will require capital investment, but it will be possible to achieve:

1. Improving the environmental situation in water areas by reducing toxic emissions and smoke emissions of exhaust gases marine diesel engines by 50%.

2. Reducing fuel costs by 20-30%.

In this regard, converting ships to gas allows not only economic benefits, but also leads to an improvement in the environmental situation (clean airspace).

On transport ships, the most feasible is the use of liquefied gas, which is dictated by the high power of power plants and the long length of lines (large volumes of gas reserves are required with minimal loss of useful area of ​​the upper decks). In this regard, gas carriers will be required for remote areas. Therefore, the main idea should be to create types of vessels that match the hazardous properties of the products, since each product may have one or more hazardous properties, including flammability, toxicity, corrosivity and reactivity. When transporting liquefied gases (the product is refrigerated or under pressure), additional hazards may arise.

Serious collisions or groundings may result in damage to the cargo tank, resulting in uncontrolled release of product. Such a leak may result in evaporation and dispersion of the product, and in some cases, a brittle fracture of the gas carrier's hull. Therefore, such a danger, as far as practically possible, on the basis of modern knowledge and scientific and technological progress, must be reduced to a minimum. These issues should be reflected, first of all, in the Rules of the Russian River Register. At the same time, the requirements for gas carriers and, possibly, chemical carriers should be based on reliable principles of shipbuilding, ship engineering and on a modern understanding of the hazardous properties of various products, since the technology for designing gas carriers is not only complex, but also rapidly developing and, in this regard, the requirements cannot remain unchanged.

In connection with the above, today the question of creating regulatory framework in relation to ships operating on gas fuel and to ships transporting it.

Based on the above, we can conclude that with a further increase in world, and as a consequence, Russian prices for diesel fuel, shipowners are forced to look for alternative ways to solve the problem, one of which is the use of gas. However, the use of gas fuel (both compressed natural gas and liquefied) on river vessels is advisable only if there is a developed network of gas stations.

IN modern conditions the construction of industrial gas filling stations is a waste of public funds, and it is impossible to find other sources of financing for such facilities. Therefore, it becomes realistic to build gas filling stations within the city and a number of large settlements, which would be used not only for refueling ships, but also for refueling vehicles. To make it possible to refuel ships in remote areas, it is possible to use gas carriers, which are advisable to build at industry enterprises. In this case, the possibility of constructing such facilities in addition to government agencies Organizations such as Gazprom, the Environmental Fund, the Moscow Government and a number of other companies might be interested.

Industry (for example, ENERGOGAZTECHNOLOGY LLC, etc.) produces piston gas engines with spark ignition and products based on them: electrical units, power plants, engine generators (gas generators), etc. All gas engines with external mixture formation.

Schematic diagram and equipment for operation of a ship power plant using gas fuel.

Fuel gas is prepared for combustion in a gas line (Fig. 1). Next, fuel gas with a pressure equal to atmospheric pressure enters the mixer (Fig. 2), where it is mixed with air in the required proportion. The dosage of the gas-air mixture entering the engine is carried out by a throttle valve (Fig. 3) with an electric drive.

The rotation speed and spark generation are controlled by the gas engine control system. This system performs emergency warning functions gas engine, opens and closes the solenoid fuel valve at the right time when starting and stopping the engine.

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Rice. 2 Mixer

Fig.3 Throttle valve

SPC "Rechport" completed a number of preliminary studies for the re-equipment of the m/v "Moskva" pr. R-51 in terms of the location of gas cylinders (dimensions of one cylinder: length - 2000 mm, Ø 401 mm, volume 250 l.), comparative figures The efficiency of the conversion is given below in Table 1, and the layout diagrams (options) are shown in Fig. 4.

This re-equipment requires additional reinforcement in terms of ensuring the strength of the tent structure. The preliminary reinforcement design is shown in Fig. 5.

Table 1

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b) feed (12 cylinders)

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Rice. 5 Preliminary design of awning reinforcement.

List of sources used

1. Research report on topic VI/810. M., MGAVT, 1997. Re-equipment of the power plant of river motor ships of urban lines in the Moscow region (using the example of the motor ship of the R-51 "Moscow" project) to operate on compressed natural gas.

Due to the presence of several power plants on a large ship, for example, the main engine, a diesel generator for generating electricity, a boiler for producing hot water and steam, marine fuel can be represented by several types at once.

Moreover, main engine A sea vessel is often powered not with one, but with two or more types of fuel alternately. This is due to the fact that in the ocean there are zones of special control of sulfur emissions - the North and Baltic Seas, the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA and Canada.

When approaching them, the engines are switched to diesel fuel with low sulfur content. The same technique is used before performing maneuvers in which it is necessary to frequently change engine modes. After leaving the port, diesel fuel is replaced with fuel oil, on which the ship passes main part ways.

Shipping fuels

The main types of fuel for ships today are:

• diesel fuel;
• high-viscosity marine fuels;
• other types (KST - component of marine fuel from gas condensate, oil gas turbine TG and TGVK, LNG - liquefied natural gas, etc.)

Diesel and low-viscosity fuels are classified as light petroleum products. They differ from each other in cost (SMT is much cheaper), as well as in technical characteristics.

SMT contains more sulfur (from 0.5 to 1.5% versus 0.01%) and has a lower cetane number (40 versus 45). The main benefit when replacing low-viscosity diesel fuel is that the latter is cheap, and also that in the absence of sulfur, special expensive additives must be added to diesel fuel to maintain lubricating properties.

High-viscosity types of marine diesel fuel are classified as dark grades of petroleum products. They are cheaper than light ones, so they are widely used for shipping. They are divided into light, heavy and extra heavy. These types include naval fuel oils F-5 and F-12, heating oils M-40 and M-100, marine fuel IFO-30, IFO-180, IFO-380. They are produced by mixing residual petroleum products with diesel fractions. Dark grades are used in low-speed and medium-speed engines.

On the storage and preparation of marine fuel

To store fuel on a ship, fuel bunkers located next to engine room. A large ship can consume up to 40 tons of fuel per day, but excess fuel, with the exception of emergency reserves in case of storms, is not taken on a voyage, since it creates ballast and reduces the useful load of the ship. Ballast also includes dead fuel on a ship - the remains in the bunkers below the intake pipes.

Before use, fuel oils are often subjected to special preparation operations. They consist of:

1. In heating the fuel mass of cold fuel oil, which has lost its fluidity, by adding hot fuel oil to the tank. Heating is also carried out in tanks equipped with special heating systems.
2. Cleaning by settling or separation in special ship installations; During these processes, dirt, mechanical inclusions and water are separated. Purified fuel wears out engines less, so purification units more than pay for themselves.

Today there are many types of diesel and other types of fuel for ships. To avoid mistakes when purchasing, try to purchase fuels and lubricants only from trusted suppliers.

International initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other harmful emissions from ships are driving the search alternative sources energy.

In particular, a report from the classification society DNV GL examines the use of fuel cells, gas and steam turbine together with electric drive systems, which can only be effective in combination with a more environmentally friendly type of fuel.

The use of fuel cells on ships is currently in development, but it will be a long time before they can replace main engines. Concepts in this direction already exist, for example, a ferry from VINCI Energies. Such a vessel has a length of 35 m. It will be able to hold a charge of energy obtained from renewable sources for 4 hours. The company's website says that such a vessel will operate between the French island of Ouessant and the continent starting in 2020.

Also as innovative technologies the use of batteries and wind energy is being considered.

Wind powered vessel, The Vindskip

Battery systems are already used in shipping, but the use of the technology for marine vessels is limited due to low efficiency.

Finally, the use of wind energy, although not new, has yet to prove its economic attractiveness in modern shipbuilding.

We remind you that from January 1, 2020, the sulfur content (SOx) in fuel should not contain more than 0.5%, and greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 50% by 2050, according to the latest decision of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Alternative fuels

Alternative fuels currently being considered include liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), methanol, biofuels and hydrogen.

The IMO is currently developing a safety code (IGF Code) for ships using gas or other environmentally friendly fuels. Work continues in the area of ​​methanol and low flashpoint fuels.

An IGF Code has not yet been developed for other fuel types, which shipowners need to take into account.

Environmental impact

According to DNV GL, LNG emits the least amount of greenhouse gases (the main greenhouse gases being water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone). However, unburned methane, which is the main component of LNG, creates emissions with 20 times more powerful greenhouse gas emissions than carbon dioxide (CO2 - carbon dioxide).

However, according to manufacturers of dual-fuel engines, the volume of unburned methane in modern equipment is not so large, and their use reduces greenhouse gases in shipping by 10-20%.

The carbon footprint (the amount of greenhouse gases caused by organizational activities and cargo transportation activities) from using methanol or hydrogen is significantly greater than that from using heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine gas oil (MGO).

When using renewable energy and biofuels, the carbon footprint is smaller.

The most environmentally friendly fuel is hydrogen, produced from renewable energy. Liquid hydrogen may be used in the future. However, it has a fairly low volumetric energy density, which leads to the need to create large storage areas.

Regarding nitrogen emissions, Otto cycle internal combustion engines powered by CNG or hydrogen do not require exhaust gas treatment equipment to comply with the Tier III standard. In most cases, dual-fuel engines operating on the diesel cycle are not suitable to meet the standard.

Nitrogen emissions during use different types fuel.

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