Stena pilots methanol

摘要

By adding one atom of oxygen to natural gas, you get methanol, potentially an important marine fuel of the future. Of course, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. The process requires high temperatures to break down the gas, then cooling, compression and distillation to obtain methanol suitable for using in ships' engines. However, the result is a fuel that has several key advantages over LNG. It is liquid at room temperature and requires neither pressurised or cryogenic tanks. Therefore it can be stored ashore and afloat in existing oil tanks and small tankers could be used as methanol bunker barges. Conversion from conventional diesel engines is possible and significantly cheaper than an LNG conversion.