Biofuel Compatibility For

Singapore Harbour Craft

Presented by Dr Liu Ming

Maritime Energy & Sustainable Development
Centre Of Excellence
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
12th Nov 2021
Project Introduction
• Aims to study the compatibility of “drop-in” biofuels for
Singapore Harbour Craft decarbonization
• Three type of fuels are chosen: PME, UCOME and HVO.
• A passenger launch vessel with high speed diesel engine is
chosen for the testing.
• Project duration is 18 months.
 Main Considerations
For Biofuel Adoption

Fuel Supply Engine

• Availability • Compatibility
• Storage • Power output and
• Blending emission
• Logistic • Maintenance
• Bunkering • Material compatibility
• Economics
Environmental
Fuel Quality • GHG
• Fuel types • Pollutant emission
• Fuel standard • Fuel spill
• Stability • …
 Biofuel Production And
Supply
Regional FAME Biodiesel Supply
• FAME is the major type of biofuel produced in SEA.
Year 2019 Indonesia Thailand Malaysia
(million m3) (million m3) (million m3)
Production 7.7 1.845 1.69
Export 1.270 0.021 0.345
(Source: United States Department of Agriculture)

Global FAME and HVO Production

• HVO capacity rose 15% in 2020 while FAME rose slightly.
• Increase of HVO is due to the expansion of existing facilities
and new production sites. (Source: REN21)

FAME (million m3) HVO/HEFA (million m3)

Production 46.5 6.5
(2019)
Production 46.8 7.5
(2020)
Leading Indonesia (17%) Finland
production USA (14.4%) Netherlands
countries Brazil (13.7%) Singapore
(2020) Germany (7.4%) USA
 Fuel Standard Involved
ASTM
D975 ASTM D7467 ASTM D6751
American B100
Diesel B5 B6 B7 B10 B20 B30
Standards
EN590 EN 16734 EN16709 (Captive Fleet) EN 14214
European
Standards Diesel B5 B6 B7 B10 (B14~B20) (B24~B30) B100

ISO 8217
British
Diesel B5 B6 B7 B10 B20 B30 B100
Standards
BXX
ASTM D7467
(FAME) SNI 7182-2015
Indonesia
Diesel B5 B6 B7 B10 B20 B30 B100
Standards
MS 123:2014
MS 2008:2014
Malaysia
Standards Diesel B5 B6 B7 B10 B20 B30 B100

ISO 8217
EN 14214
Singapore
Diesel B5 B6 B7 B10 B20 B30 B100
Standards

EN 590 EN 15940

European Diesel R99 R100

Standards
RXX
(HVO) ASTM D975/ EN 590
American
Standards Diesel R100
 Fuel Stability
Parameters to check over time
1. Viscosity
2. Water content
3. Acid value
4. Oxidation stability
By sediment
By induction period

Viscosity: stays within range of available EN standards

6(ISO 8217) 6(ISO 8217)
5(EN 14214) 5(EN 14214)
5 5 5 4.5
4.62(EN 16709) 4.65(EN 16709) 4.62(EN 16709) 4.65(EN 16709)
4.5(EN 590) 4.5(EN 590) 4.5(EN 590) 4.5(EN 590) (EN 15940)

PME UCOME 4

Viscosity (cSt)
4 4
HVO
Viscosity (cSt)

Viscosity (cSt)
3.5(EN 14214) 3.5(EN 14214)

3 3 3

2
2(ISO 8217) 2(EN 16709) 2(EN 16709) 2(ISO 8217) 2(EN 16709) 2(EN 16709) 2(EN 590) 2(EN 590) 2(EN 590) 2(EN 590) (EN 15940)
2 2 2
B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 R7 R20 R30 R50 R100

Confidential MESD Centre of Excellence | 2019

 Fuel Stability
Water Content: stays within the range of EN standards after 4 months except for B100 (PME & UCOME), all HVO samples pass

1400 1400 1400

1200 1200 1200

1000 PME 1000 UCOME 1000 HVO

Water (mg/kg)

Water (mg/kg)

Water (mg/kg)
800 800 800

600 600 600

260 290 260 290
400 (EN 16709) (EN 16709) 500 400 (EN 16709) (EN 16709) 500 400 200 200 200 200 200
(EN 14214) (EN 14214) (EN 590) (EN 590) (EN 590) (EN 590) (EN 15940)
200 200 200

0 0 0
B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 R7 R20 R30 R50 R100

Acid Value: All stay within EN standards

0.5(ISO 8217) 0.5(EN 14214) 0.5(ISO 8217) 0.5(EN 14214)
0.5 0.5 0.5
0.45 0.45 0.45
0.4 PME 0.4 UCOME 0.4 HVO

Acid Value (mg KOH/g)

Acid Value (mg KOH/g)

Acid Value (mg KOH/g)

0.35 2(ASTM 7467) 0.35 0.35
2(ASTM 7467)
0.3 0.3 0.3
0.25 0.25 0.25
0.2 0.2 0.2
0.15 0.15 0.15
0.1 0.1 0.1
0.05 0.05 0.05
0 0 0
B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 R7 R20 R30 R50 R100

Confidential MESD Centre

MESD of Excellence
Centre | 2021
of Excellence | 2019
 Fuel Stability
Oxidation Stability (sediment): All stay with either ISO or EN standard limits
25(ISO 8217) 25(ISO 8217) 25(EN 15940)
20 20 20
18 18 18
UCOME HVO

Oxidation Stability (g/m3)

Oxidation Stability (g/m3)

PME

Oxidation Stability (g/m3)

16 16 16
14 14 14
12 12 12
10 10 10
8 8 8
6 6 6
4 4 4
2 2 2
0 0 0
MGO B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 MGO B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 MGO R7 R20 R30 R50 R100

Oxidation Stability (induction period): PME blends allow decent storage time (8 weeks); UCOME blends stay within specs only
when fresh; HVO stays fresh after 20 weeks.

80
PME 80 HVO 80
UCOME
70 70 70

Oxidation Stability (h)

Oxidation Stability (h)
Oxidation Stability (h)

60 60 60
20(EN 16709)
50 50 50
40 40 40
30 30 30
20(EN 16709) 20(EN 16709)
20 20 20
20(EN 590) 20(EN 590) 20(EN 590) 20(EN 590) 20(EN
10 10 15940) 10
8(EN 14214) 8(EN 14214)
0 6(ASTM 7467) 0 0 6(ASTM 7467)
B7 B20 B30 B50 B100 R7 R20 R30 R50 R100 B7 B20 B30 B50 B100

Confidential MESD Centre

MESD of Excellence
Centre | 2021
of Excellence | 2019
 Sea Trial Summary – Vessel Preparation

Vessel specification Engine preparation Equipment installation Bunkering arrangement

• Type: Cargo launch (<12 pax)
• Engine: Dual Weichai WD
series engine
• GT: 27 ton
• Net tonnage: 13 ton
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 13.5
m x 3.8 m x 2 m
• Draft: 1 m
• New lube oil • Exhaust gas analyser (NOx, SO2, CO,
• New gasket (NBR) for CO2)
fuel filter • Pitot tube
• New 316L SS fuel pipe • Ultrasonic flow meter
• New NBR and PVC fuel • Shaft power meter
hose connection • GPS
• Temperature & humidity logger
• Start @ Banyan shipyard
• Regular bunkering @ Penjuru
Jetty
• Bunker quantity given by flow
meter
• Bunker quantity verified by fuel
level indicator
 Sea Trial Summary – Test Routes
Chartered route for MGO baseline trial Chartered route for B30 trial
Roundtrips from west coast floating buoy to southern Roundtrips from Banyan shipyard to Sudong anchorage
end of Jurong Island
Sea Trial Observations

Common materials Use Observation*

HDPE Biofuel IBC tanks No effect

Fuel hose
PVC (transparent) Hardened, non-brittle
Level indicator
Fuel hose Minor degradation of
NBR
Fuel filter gasket elasticity
316L stainless steel Fuel pipe No effect
GRE (glass reinforced Fuel tank
No effect
epoxy) Ship hull
Copper Injector washer No effect
Fuel injector
Hardened steel Normal wear & tear
components
Lube oil Engine lubrication Normal degradation
* Total biofuel (B30 PME) exposure time is 4 months
 Sea Trial
Observations

NOx emission Carbon monoxide

Inconclusive yet, No change (74~98 ppm),
further investigation same range as that of MGO
needed

Exhaust gas temperature SO2 emission Maximum power

Inconclusive, no difference Below Only 1% loss of
detection limit maximum engine rpm
from running with MGO
 Sea Trial Observations – Fuel Consumption &
GHG Emission
o Data collected from 15 Apr to 22 Sep, 2021.
o B30 biodiesel exhibits 7% increase of SFOC
than MGO.
o Possibility to reduce the fuel consumption
gap if engine is designed for biofuel.

GHG emission of B30 PME and UCOME

Tank to Well to
Well to tank Increased SFOC GHG reduction GHG reduction
Fuel propeller propeller
(gCO2e/MJ) (gCO2e/MJ) LCA (%) IPCC (%)
(gCO2e/MJ) (gCO2e/MJ)
MGO 17.46a 0 74.70a 92.16 0 0

B30 (PME) 22.98b 1.61 57.35 81.94 11.1 23.2

B30 (UCOME) 14.29c 1.0 57.35 72.64 21.2 23.2

a: ICCT report, Jan 2020; b: Derived from supplier and MGO data; c: Derived from MESD result and MGO data
Compatibility To Singapore
Harbour Craft
Vessel Population

Work Flow
Without
Extract vessel and engine
engine population from 29%
registry
With
engine
71%

Survey and interview

with engine OEMs
82% Biodiesel Compatibility
coverage

Inconclusive*
“Search match” to
32%
estimate compatible
engines
Compatible
68%
* Recommended to check with OEMs
 Key Take Aways From Engine OEM Survey*
Blending Ratio Fuel Quality & Standards Engine Components &
Maintenance
B20 and below Quality
Overall good acceptance and support COA shall be adhered to Components
from existing and current engine Biodiesel is more susceptible to MOC shall withstand the increased
models elements and bacteria solvency and corrosion from
Storage stability is critical biodiesel
B30 and above (up to B100)
Generally not recommended as ISO 8217 Maintenance
“drop-in” fuel Widely accepted Generally more frequent change of
Sea trials with gradual increase of filter and lube oil
blending are encouraged for higher EN & ASTM
blends B100 as blending stock is generally
acknowledged Fuel Consumption & Emission
B100 ready engines are available for
limited models or brand only Not ready for intermediate blends
SFOC
(from B7 to B99)
Minor effect for B20 and below
More pronounced effect from B30
OEM’s own standard and above
Some OEMs do provide internal
reference for biodiesel adoption Emission
SOx free
HVO related More NOx (B30 and above)
Generally accepted as drop-in fuel Less PM

*Recommendations may differ for biofuels use in outdated or slow speed engines – do check with Engine OEMs
 Moving Forward

✓ Test higher blends of FAME

• PME and UCOME up to B50 and B100
• GHG reduction potential
✓ Test HVO blends
• Explore and gain operation experience
• GHG reduction potential
Thank you
Website: http://coe.ntu.edu.sg/MESD_CoE
Email: d-mesd@ntu.edu.sg

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