Pilot project shows significance and scalability of biofuels

摘要

With the IMO's 2020 sulphur regulations on the horizon, shipowners face a growing list of options to ensure their vessels remain 'seaworthy'. Yet the most popular solutions - LNG, scrubbers, low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) - all have significant drawbacks. There is an uncertainty about the availability of LSFO, major ports are banning open loop scrubbers, while retrofitting a vessel for LNG is costly and the bunkering infrastructure still limited. But there's another option and its proponents believe it could offer the easiest and most viable way of meeting the sulphur cap while also lowering CO_2 emissions - biofuel.