Reducing emissions with marine fuel treated with natural enzymes

SNSPOOL - a collaborative agreement between nine oil and gas operators operating mainly on the Dutch continental shelf - has tested ChangeXL powered by XBEE on an offshore supply vessel.

This fuel is treated with XBEE Enzyme Fuel Technology, a partner company of Green Marine Europe.

Measurements were taken without and with XBEE on 23 September 2021 and 13 January 2022 respectively. The offshore supply vessel was equipped with Rolls Royce Bergen C25 diesel engines developing 2,400 kW each, powered by MGO.

The project was managed by Henk-Jan Heres of TAUW, a European consultancy firm specialising in the environment and sustainable development.

TAUW was responsible for measuring all gas emissions and certifying the entire process, weighting the specific diesel consumption data according to the IMO's E3 test cycle. TAUW is accredited by the Netherlands Accreditation Council (RVA) in accordance with NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17025.

Roy Gebbink of XBEE Europe deployed the tools for continuous monitoring of specific fuel consumption using Kral flowmeters and Datum Electronics torque and shaft power measuring devices.

Power in kW and fuel consumption in litres per hour were measured continuously and validated by TAUW as being consistent with CO2 emissions measurements.

Carried out in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) E3 test cycle, the test revealed an average fuel consumption reduction of 6.47%. While this E3 test cycle is based on weighted averages, of which 75% is the most important, it should be noted that offshore vessels operate at lower loads. The test results therefore improved with lower partial loads: with engine load reduced to 60-65% on average, the reduction in fuel consumption reached 9.71% after treatment with XBEE Enzyme Fuel Technology.

On the strength of these results, SNSPOOL's Board of Directors has decided that all vessels under long-term contract (in principle more than six months) will be bunkered with ChangeXL powered by XBEE. The widespread use of ChangeXL powered by XBEE on vessels in the SNSPOOL fleet has reduced CO2 emissions by 4,651 tonnes over one year (2022).

After two years of operation, the study has also shown that the ships' engines run more cleanly, that there is less soot in the exhaust gases and that, when overhauled, the turbines, valves, injectors, etc. are cleaner. Ronan Pennec, Managing Director of XBEE: "Let's not forget that fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are directly linked. The percentage reduction in fuel consumption can therefore be applied to the reduction in CO2 emissions.