Meanwhile, the Indian Register of Shipping has issued a Technical Circular (No: 058/2022) on the Use of Biofuel and its Blend as fuel on board Indian Flagged Ships. This follows an Indian government decision to allow biofuels on vessels flagged in the country.

Among several requirements listed, a Vessel Specific Risk Analysis is to be carried out for use of bio-fuel blends. It also cautions that the significant presence of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) requires additional fuel management focus on addressing the propensity of FAME to retain water, accelerate oxidation, microbial growth, and filtration problems. It advises long term storage should be avoided during the trial phase. Settling and service tanks should be regularly drained of water. Tank and fuel system materials (any tank coatings used that may not be compatible to substances such as FAME) should be assessed for suitability of storage and handling of this fuel. It is advisable to ensure the tanks to be loaded with the Bio-diesel are emptied, and cleaned of any excess sludge.

IRS says that a shipboard operational procedure is to be prepared and can part of the safety management system (SMS) manual and is to include procedure for procurement, availability test result, storage of biofuel blend, frequency of cleaning of fuel filters, inspection of storage tanks, monitoring of transfer lines and associated piping & fittings and any other requirements specified by the manufacturers of engines/equipment. The procedure is to also include logging/monitoring of all relevant engine parameters, maintenance, and checks in consultation with equipment manufacturer.

The circular also instructs that no Biofuel blend is to be used for emergency equipment including lifeboat engines, emergency generator engines or emergency fire pump motors.

In another development, equipment manufacturer Alfa Laval is now producing biofuel-ready separators. The company notes that biofuels such as HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) and FAME can be used by diesel engines without major engine modifications. “They can be a carbon-neutral alternative if produced from the right biomass, Alfa Laval notes, “but they must still be cleaned effectively to prevent performance issues and expensive engine wear.”

Claiming “a marine industry first”, Alfa Laval says its high-speed separators are now compatible with HVO (EN15940) and with FAME (EN14214 or ASTM D6751) blends comprising residual fuel and/or distillate.