Methanol as fuel: An accessible early step toward clean shipping
The global shipping industry drastically needs to clean up its game, but dragging these massive machines through the ocean requires extraordinary amounts of energy. Cheap, plentiful, filthy marine diesel will be extremely hard to replace. Last year we examined a promising high-density clean fuel candidate in green ammonia, but now we're learning that the industry is starting to potentially tilt toward methanol as the solution instead. So let's take a look at why, and examine methanol's potential as a clean fuel.
Why not green ammonia?
The answer appears to be fairly simple, according to a report from Recharge News. Ammonia is viewed as unsafe, it's difficult to handle and it simply doesn't carry enough energy.
In terms of safety, ammonia becomes harmful to humans at a very low concentration of 30 parts per million (ppm) over long-term exposure, or 300 ppm if exposure lasts an hour. So small leaks in any part of a ship's system could pose a persistent risk to the crew, and any larger release of fuel – say, if the ship runs aground, or hits another ship and the hull's breached, or there's a significant leak during refueling, or somebody drops a shipping container at port and damages part of the fuel system – could easily result in numerous fatalities.
Together In Safety's Future Fuels Report lists no less than six risk assessment scenarios in which ammonia fuels could pose an "intolerable risk."
Handling is difficult, says the same report, since ammonia only remains liquid under low to medium pressure, or when it's kept below -34 °C (-29 °F), and the shipping industry doesn't currently have regulations, rules or guidelines in place for its use as a fuel – mind you, it's most certainly already being carried in bulk as a cargo.
And then there's its volumetric energy density, which is key to viability in the shipping racket. At 3.5 kWh/l, ammonia is considerably more attractive than gaseous or cryogenic liquid hydrogen in this regard, but you get nearly 24 percent more energy per liter with methanol, and it's both easier and safer to deal with.
下一篇:We Cannot Live Without Cryptography!
- ·First officially approved Gen IV nuclear reactor in the US breaks ground
- ·成都太古里的熊猫为何对一碗鳗鱼饭垂涎三尺?8月27日,答案揭晓
- ·“蒙顶山茶”获百年世博中国名茶金奖
- ·正月初一到十五,据不完全统计全市约出生170余名
- ·高燃!哨响表停赛不止,2024广东“村BA”开赛在即,一分钟带你重温高光瞬间。
- ·市消防支队到雅化集团生产厂进行实战演练
- ·我市2015年减免企业税金14430万元
- ·你许愿了 他们却忙坏了
- ·Pressure boost squeezes out more hydrogen from artificial leaves
- ·粤品入“龙”门,一趟广东好品的黑龙江之旅
- ·“智慧工行 与众不同”
- ·市文化馆新年音乐会精彩上演
- ·“新丰味”喜获中国首届县域品牌擂台赛十大营销创新品牌
- ·搬出水平 搬出效益 搬出形象
- ·我市新农合为群众健康“护航”
- ·岭南与巴蜀对话:再论至鲜之道
- ·PS5 Pro: There are new whispers that the release date is fast approaching
- ·岭南与巴蜀对话:再论至鲜之道
- ·广东11个国家农业产业强镇拟通过评估
- ·我市一科技成果获国家科学技术进步奖二等奖
- ·Doosan scraps controversial Robotics
- ·新车未申领“临时牌照” 出事故保险公司不予赔偿
- ·纸艺艺术家温绮雯:妙纸生花,喜迎人间“丰”景
- ·广东11个国家农业产业强镇拟通过评估
- ·Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp 2024 livestream: Watch US Open for free
- ·化州平定镇(化橘红)入选首批国家农业产业强镇名单