Biofuel testing on a marine vessel

By November 1, 2023, the ship Tetsuun Maru NO.1 has been running on alternative fuel for a month. The bulk carrier uses a fuel mixture of waste cooking oil directly (without chemical processing) with heavy fuel oil on the domestic route between Mikawa and Tokyo Bay. It is noted that this project was the first in Japan to use this type of biofuel on sea vessels. Until now, the main feedstock for the biofuel blend has been fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), which is produced by chemically processing waste cooking oil and methanol. For this project, a mixture of heavy fuel oil grade A with waste cooking oil (with a biofuel share of 24%) was used.