MOL trials LBM on vessel

Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has successfully trialled liquefied bio-methane (LBM) derived from cattle manure as marine fuel on an LNG-fuelled vessel.

PHOTO: LBM being delivered from a truck to the Ise Mirai. MOL

A MOL-led consortium comprises Air Water, JERA, Techno Chubu, Kyoudou Kaiun, MOL Coastal Shipping, Cenergy and IHI Power Systems.

The trial was carried out on the LNG-fuelled cargo vessel Ise Mirai in Ise Bay and marked “Japan's first use of carbon-neutral LBM derived from biomass.”

Chemical company Air Water supplied the LBM for the trial. LBM was produced from cattle manure in the Tokachi region of Hokkaido, where the Japanese Ministry of the Environment has run a project involving unused biogas.

MOL and its partners in the project concluded that LBM can be transported using the existing domestic LNG supply chain and that truck-to-ship bunkering of LBM can be done using existing LNG tank trucks.

This is primarily because “the main component of both LBM and LNG is methane.” LBM is produced from bio-methane generated from dairy-owned biogas plants, before it is liquefied at about -160°C and processed to separate out its main component, methane.

PHOTO: Process of LBM production and supply chain for use on LNG-fuelled vessels. MOL

LBM is “also a carbon-neutral domestic energy source because it is made from cattle manure,” MOL claims.

LNG has potential to reduce “carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 25% compared to conventional fuel oil, but further reduction of CO2 emissions can be expected through the partial use of LBM, a carbon-neutral energy source,” and thus can be “an effective solution to achieve low-carbon and decarbonized ship operations,” MOL adds.

Despite both LNG and LBM being lower-carbon fuel options, methane slip remains a key concern as uncombusted methane has about 86 times higher global warming potential than CO2 over a 20-year period.

By Tuhin Roy

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