Cargill orders methanol-fueled bulkers in Japan

Initial plans regarding up to six orders have been scaled back, but Cargill ocean transportation president Jan Dieleman says scaled zero-carbon orders must be made, not just talked about.

Recently, the Standard Club examined the emerging fuels that may feature heavily in the shipping industry’s route to decarbonisation, especially in the backdrop of IMO’s 2030 targets.

Regarding methanol, Standard Club had to say the following:

Methanol has several benefits, including:

• Liquid at ambient temperatures, so no need to heat or cool.
• Relatively easier to store and handle than cryogenic fuels.
• Possible to convert existing engines from conventional fuel to methanol.
• Relatively minor modifications needed to existing storage and bunkering facilities.
• Already widely traded, well-understood and readily available in some ports for bunkering.
• Water-soluble and biodegradable, with a lower impact on the environment if a spill happens.
• Comparatively more energy-dense than hydrogen and ammonia.
• Clean burning fuel with low levels of sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter.

However, it also presents a number of challenges:

• Production is still currently mainly via processing natural gas (grey methanol) or coal (brown methanol), limiting the reduction of CO2 emissions.
• Only when methanol is produced using renewable sources like biomass, and if the power used to produce it comes from renewable energy, it is considered to be green methanol.
• Lower energy density than conventional fuel oil.
• Large fuel volume is almost 2.5 times fuel oil, so requires larger storage tanks and/or more frequent bunkering.
• Low flash point of well below 60°C is a fire risk, requiring extra fire prevention measures when handled and stored.
• Toxic if inhaled, ingested or handled.
• Increased corrosion risks Apart from larger volume of fuel tanks, additional cofferdams will be needed to prevent any potential leak into machinery spaces.