Research On The Preparation Of Marine Heavy Oil And Low-carbon Alcohol Mixed Fuel And The Evaluation Of Fuel Characteristics

There is a growing concern towards the environmental impacts related to the combustion of conventional marine fuels for ship propulsion.Several regulations including the global sulfur cap limit,the Tier II and III NO_x limits,etc.have been implemented to regulate the industry’s emissions.To fully comply with these regulations,70%of conventional ship fuels would have to be changed or modified,and low carbon alcohols offer one of the most fulfilling pathways in achieving this goal.Heavy fuel oil(HFO)-methanol/ethanol blends are proposed as a sustainable solution for shipowners to reduce emissions to acceptable levels,according to the present study.However,miscibility issues occur in HFO-methanol/ethanol blends,and there is little information in the literature about how to remedy the situation.As a result,the major goal of this research is to create a kinetically stable HFO-methanol/ethanol mix in the presence of n-butanol,tetrahydrofuran(THF),polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers(PODE),Rhamnolipid,and Span 80.The viscosity,corrosivity,and sulfur content of the ternary systems were also measured in comparison to neat HFO.Furthermore,a cost estimate of the suggested ternary systems versus an HFO+scrubber system as two distinct strategies to fulfill SOx emission regulations is carried out.The ternary blends were unobstructed at an investigational temperature(20℃-55℃)for at least two days(48 hours)to detect their mutual solubility.Finally,the analytical hierarchy process method was adopted to rank 16 sub-barriers classified under 5main barriers in order of importance according to their effect on adoption of renewable methanol as a marine fuel.When the solubility abilities of PODE,THF,and n-butanol were evaluated after maintaining a 2-day single-phase solution,PODE was found to be the best co-solvent for methanol-containing blends,while THF was found to be the best co-solvent for ethanol-containing blends.On the other hand,a comparative evaluation between Rhamnolipid and Span 80 also show that the biosurfactants have strong solubilizing power than their synthetic counterparts.In general,solubility in ethanol-containing systems were much easier to achieve upon the addition of surfactants than methanol’s.Except for Span 80,the oxygenated fuels and surfactants reduced the kinematic viscosity substantially below that of a preheated/unheated HFO,lowering the cost and energy of preheating.The ternary systems’corrosivity was exceedingly low and insignificant.When compared to alternative options such as HFO+Scrubber,the HFO mix at 1:1 ratio resulted in a considerable reduction in sulfur content of neat HFO,albeit at a greater cost.In decreasing order of importance,the barriers affecting the faster deployment of renewable methanol as a marine fuel is in the order economic,technical,environmental,institutional and regulatory,social,and environmental.Results of the current study could address some of the key issues raised in the combustion of HFO in the shipping sector.The study encourages the widespread use of oxygenated fuels in the maritime transport sector,which is a right step towards meeting decarbonization targets.