Sulfur-Free MARine LIgnin FuEls (SMARt LIFE)

New rules from the U.N.

International Maritime Organization will ban ships from using fuels with sulfur content higher than 0.5% w/w and will come into force by 2020 aiming to decrease the pollution of ships. We are suggesting the preparation of sulfur-free green marine fuels from renewable resources.

More specifically, the suggested fuel will consist of a mixture of lignin in ethylene glycol, in which lignin will be derived from wood waste streams after fractionation with organosolv pretreatment while the ethylene glycol will be produced by the conversion of the wood cellulose to ethanol (via fermentation) and catalytic conversion of ethanol to ethylene and dehydration to ethylene glycol.

The properties of the fuel will be tested in an HD single cylinder test engine and emissions and fuel efficiency will be quantified.

The potential market for this a low-sulphur biofuel for ships will be assessed and a LCA study will be performed in order to assess its environmental performance.