Decarbonisation Technology - May 2023 Issue

40 ft container. A previous MMU installation at a refinery in Spain (see Figure 1 ) took only nine months from design sign-off to production of fuel. Based on average ARA bunker prices from 2022, installation of a 1,000 million t/d MMU can save approximately $40 million/y from the liberation of valuable distillates, which can be shared between the refinery and the consumer, providing rapid payback time for the refinery and a cheaper fuel. By burning MSAR instead of HFO, the end user could save an estimated 37,000 million t/y of CO2 from engine efficiency benefits. Quadrise has further developed the technology with its bioMSAR fuel, incorporating a renewable biocomponent within the emulsion fuel blend – waste-based glycerine. This is a non-toxic, biodegradable byproduct from the manufacture of biodiesel that is miscible with water. It is manufactured using the same emulsification technology as MSAR and comprises 50% residue or HFO, 40% glycerine, and 10% water with additives. bioMSAR offers environmental benefits of more than 20% CO2 savings on a well-to-wake basis vs HFO, improved engine efficiency due to pre-atomisation of the oil phase, lower NOx and particulate emissions, and a significantly reduced risk from spillage as it is readily soluble in water. Similar to MSAR, it can be handled at ambient temperature (circa 20-30°C), reducing energy consumption, as HFO is typically heated to much higher temperatures to pump freely. On a per-unit energy basis, bioMSAR is cheaper than LNG (see Figure 2 ) and provides superior well-to-wake CO2 reduction due to its high glycerine content. It requires little to no additional operational changes to burn in a diesel engine, unlike the high investment cost required to burn LNG. Finally, there is no concern for ‘methane slip’ as methane is not present within the fuel. bioMSAR is also an effective alternative to used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME)-based biodiesel blends such as B30. A CO2 equivalent bioMSAR blend is cheaper on a cost-per-unit energy basis, and testing has demonstrated no concern for microbial growth, which is a notable issue with biodiesel storage. Moreover, it qualifies for renewable credits in the EU, as crude glycerine is featured as an advanced

Figure 1 MSAR manufacturing unit

suspends them within the water phase. The pre-atomised droplets are far smaller than HFO droplets atomised within an engine (around 80 µm), which results in enhanced engine efficiency of up to 5% and a significant reduction in black soot emission when burning the fuel, as the pre-atomised droplets combust almost completely, proportionately reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The presence of water in the fuel reduces the temperature of combustion, decreasing NOx emissions by around 30%. Its lower viscosity also reduces the heating requirements for fuel storage and handling compared to HFO. If a high-discharge event were to occur, the fuel readily disperses in water, causing minimal damage to marine life. A typical MSAR manufacturing unit (MMU) produces 1,000 million t/d of emulsion fuel and is supplied to a refinery in a modular

35.0 45.0 40.0 25.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 15.0 50.0

45.6

25.0

18.4

12.8

7.6

0.0 5.0

HSFO MSAR

UCOME B30 (HFSO)

bioM S AR LNG

Note: Bunker fuels, UCOME blends and bioMSAR blends based on Rotterdam prices. Efficiency values included: MSAR 5% and bioMSAR 5%.

Figure 2 Cost competitiveness of MSAR and bioMSAR vs marine fuels in 2022