Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that a 499 GT coastal vessel, Tetsuun Maru No.1, was successfully operated using biofuel made by mixing waste cooking oil directly with heavy fuel oil.
According to MOL, 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. 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.
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.
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, 499 GT coastal vessel.
According to MOL, since the SVO undergoes no methyl esterification or hydrogenation process, it is likely to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions even more than other biofuels and can be supplied at a lower cost.
