WasteFuel upbeat about methanol bunker demand as it launches modular waste-to-fuel unit
US-based biofuel producer WasteFuel intends to produce 100 mt/day of green methanol using different types of municipal waste such as gas from landfill and anaerobic digestion.
PHOTO: WasteFuel turns municipal and agricultural waste into low-carbon fuels, renewable natural gas, and green methanol. WasteFuel
WasteFuel has developed a modular methanol production unit, which it says can extract energy from bio-feedstock more efficiently than before.
A modular design with several parts making up a system means that units can be built and scaled where waste is available, WasteFuel says.
The production units can convert both dry and wet municipal waste into green methanol, which can reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional fuels, WasteFuel claims.
It is upbeat about future demand as several major shipping firms, including Maersk, COSCO, CMA CGM, Proman and Stena Line have announced they will fuel some of their vessels with methanol.
WasteFuel is yet to share more details on the technology as it is undergoing a patenting process, but it does intend to make the technology available to other players through licensing.
The producer has agreed to supply 30,000 mt/year of bio-methanol to Maersk's upcoming methanol-fuelled fleet by 2024. This fuel will initially be produced using municipal waste from South America.
Maersk has put in orders for 12 large methanol-powered container vessels and one smaller methanol-powered feeder vessel. The container vessels are set to enter into operation from 2024, and the feeder by the middle of next year.
WasteFuel and five other companies will supply Maersk's vessels with a combined 730,000 mt/year of methanol by the end of 2025.
By Nithin Chandran
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