MOL Bunkering Vessel Operated Using Biodiesel Fuel

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that the bunkering vessel Techno Star, owned and operated by its group company MOL Techno-Trade, Ltd. (MOL Tech), has been operating using cleaner burning biodiesel fuel (BDF) supplied by Aburatou Shoji K.K.

The MOL Group, which announced in June 2021 that it aims to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050, said it is exploring biomass as an effective alternative to fossil fuels.

The BDF used on board Techno Star is fatty acid methyl ester generated through transesterification of collected waste cooking oil with methanol. Glycerin and fatty acids are separated from oils and fats through a reaction with methanol to generate fatty acid methyl ester, in which fatty acids and methanol are bonded.

BDF is a biomass energy resource, which exhausts carbon dioxide (CO2) during combustion, but the plants that provide its raw material absorb CO2 and reproduce biomass, so CO2 emissions during combustion can be reduced. The BDF supplied for the vessel is used by increasing mixing ratio with Class A heavy fuel to more than 30% first time in Japan, which is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 25-30%.

Classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) certified that nitrogen oxygen (NOx) emissions from the vessel during BDF combustion are within emissions limits set by international regulations including the MARPOL Treaty. This is the first such certification by ClassNK in Japan.