Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and its group company, MOL Coastal Shipping, have announced that the coastal RoRo vessel Tetsuun Maru No.1, was successfully operated using biofuel made by mixing waste cooking oil directly with heavy fuel oil. The biofuel used on the vessel is made by mixing waste cooking oil derived from vegetable oils and fats in Japan without chemical treatment with heavy fuel oil. This marks Japan’s first initiative to use this kind of biofuel in marine vessels.
Hanwa Co., Ltd. supplied the biofuel to the vessel in the Chukyo region as part of a research program on marine applications of biofuels by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in cooperation with Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the cargo shipper. The vessel operated on the biofuel mixture for about a month, plying a route between Mikawa Bay and Tokyo Bay, and reported no flammability problems or other issues.
Until now, the main raw material for biofuels has been Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), produced by the chemical processing of waste cooking oil and methanol. In this project, used cooking oil was mixed with heavy oil A (mixing ratio of Bio was 24%) in almost its original form as straight vegetable oil (SVO) and used in a general-purpose ship type. Since the SVO undergoes no methyl esterification or hydrogenation process, it will likely reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions even more than other biofuels. It can be supplied at a lower cost.
Biofuel is positioned as an effective, clean alternative fuel that can be used without changing the specifications of the vessel’s main engines and so on. As stated in the “MOL Environmental Vision 2.2”, updated in April 2023, it can effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions, especially in small coastal RoRo vessels with limited space for tanks and other equipment required for other alternative fuels. This initiative on coastal RoRo vessels follows a sea trial for using liquefied biomethane fuel conducted in June. Through these initiatives, the MOL Group will contribute to reducing and decarbonising ocean transport.
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