Quadrise Fuels International PLC (LON:QFI) has launched a new sustainable fuel product called bioMSAR.
It is a synthetic alternative to heavy fuel oil (HFO) with significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the company said.
In the new product the company’s MSAR technology is used to combine renewable glycerol with water and refinery residues to produce an oil-in-water emulsified synthetic fuel.
The company noted that, compared to HFO, the new product can produce emissions with 20%-30% less carbon dioxide, whilst nitrous oxide and particulate levels will also be lower.
READ: Quadrise says MSAR can save refineries US$100mln a year
Glycerol is a benign chemical that’s colourless, odourless, water-soluble, non-volatile and bio-degradable, the company added. As a fuel, glycerol has excellent lubricity, burns almost pollutant-free and is virtually carbon neutral.
Quadrise highlighted that a switch to bioSAR fuel has similar benefits to using liquified natural gas (LNG) instead of HFO, but such systems require expensive cryogenic storage and liquefaction systems and have the risk of ‘methane slip’ during use, which can impact potential greenhouse gas reductions.
“The development and launch of bioMSAR is a real success story for the company,” said Jason Miles, Quadrise chief executive in a statement.
“Having planned a roadmap for a sustainable fuel product earlier in the year, the innovative Quadrise team has made outstanding progress in bringing our glycerol-based biofuel from concept to market in such a short time, including the filing of a new joint patent application with Nouryon.
“Our original target for bioMSAR was a 10-20% reduction in CO2 compared with heavy fuel oil, however, 20-30% has been achieved already which compares favourably with LNG, albeit at a much lower cost for conversion.”
Miles added: “We look forward to updating shareholders, as appropriate, on the results from planned engine and combustion testing of bioMSAR(R), new fuel developments, and commercial discussions with stakeholders in the biofuel supply chain during the coming months.”
