Purus Marine orders two ethanol dual-fuel VLECs

UK-based shipowner Purus Marine has ordered two dual-fuel very large ethane carriers (VLECs) that can run on ethanol.

PHOTO: Getty Images

In addition to ethanol. the two 98,000-cbm VLECs can also be fuelled by conventional marine fuels. They will be built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).

The US Department of Energy defines ethanol as “a renewable fuel made from various plant materials collectively known as 'biomass'.” It contains ethyl alcohol and is produced from starch- or sugar-based feedstocks.

Since ethanol’s chemical and physical properties are very similar to methanol, it can replace methanol as an engine fuel.

They are both liquid fuels with low flash points of 11-12°C for methanol and 13°C for ethanol. Their low cetane numbers make them harder to ignite and burn than fossil fuels. This means that combustion engines powered by methanol or ethanol will require a small amount of pilot fuel, such as diesel, for ignition.

The ethanol dual-fuel engines will “lower CO2 and SOx emissions,” Purus Marine says. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Upon delivery, both vessels will be chartered out on long-term contracts.

Ethanol in the future bunker mix

Wärtsilä “is in talks with shipping companies and fuel producers about how to introduce the fuel to the bunker mix,” the Finnish engine maker’s director for sustainable fuels and decarbonisation Mikael Wideskog said in an interview with S&P Global in March this year.

In October, Brazilian energy firm Raízen – a joint venture between conglomerate Cosan and oil supermajor Shell – partnered with Wärtsilä to explore using ethanol as a bunker fuel alternative to methanol.

Brazil is the world's second biggest ethanol producer, only behind the US.

By Tuhin Roy

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