Work

Emissions assessment of a vessel using a sustainable alcohol-based fuel produced by catalytic conversion of bioethanol

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The shipping sector faces significant challenges to meet decarbonization targets. This study investigates the use of GrenOl+, an advanced biofuel composed of short and long-chain alcohols, in a blend with marine diesel fuel as an alternative to reduce the atmospheric impact of this challenging sector. The experiments were carried out at the port of Valencia (Spain) in a vessel equipped with a 186 kW compression ignition engine operated at different loads. First, a blend consisting of 80% marine diesel fuel and 20% GrenOl+ (by vol.) was selected based on its physical and thermochemical properties. Although this blend resulted in a lower derived cetane number and heating value than the neat diesel fuel, thus increasing the specific fuel consumption, it allowed for a significant reduction in particles number (by 20%) while keeping very similar CO2 tailpipe emissions. Benefits in CO and HC emissions were also observed, which could be extended to NOx emissions throughout the whole engine map with minor changes in the engine settings. This study indicates that GrenOl+ can be a viable drop-in fuel to partially replace conventional fuels in the maritime sector, helping to meet the requirements of regulatory agencies in the future.

Source: Fuel

DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2025.136931

Authors: Pedro Ventin, Juan J. Hernández, Diego Gómez-Doménech, Josep Sanz-Argent, Magin Lapuerta