Japanese trio bunkers fully-pressurized LPG carrier with biofuel using biomass-based waste liquid and green methanol

Three Japanese companies Marubeni Corporation, Biofuel Technology Research (BTR) and Tabichi Kaiun Co. have jointly performed fueling of a fully-pressurized LPG carrier with biofuel produced from biomass-based waste liquid and green methanol.

According to the partners, this is the world’s first application of biofuel using green methanol and biomass-based waste liquid in a fully pressurized LPG carrier.

For this initiative, biofuel was manufactured in Japan using technology jointly owned by Marubeni and BTR and applied to the Buean Reina, a vessel operated by Tabuchi and chartered by Marubeni.

The three companies said they achieved safe navigation of the vessel using the biofuel with an approximately 19% reduction in CO2 emissions per voyage.

The Keihin area, where the Buena Reina underwent refuelling, also boasts the largest scale port in Japan in terms of the volume of cargo handled, and this also represents the first time that an ocean-going vessel has been supplied with biofuel in this area, Marubeni noted.

Furthermore, as part of the refuelling operation on the Buena Reina, the world’s first pure battery tanker Asahi, a vessel operated by Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd., which uses renewable energy and was chartered by Marubeni, also achieved zero emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG emissions) during bunkering.

Going forward, the three companies plan to utilize their respective insights and know-how to incorporate various methods facilitating the reduction of GHG emissions, including CO2, while promoting and exploring initiatives to contribute to the reduction of environmental impacts.

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