ビンゴ ルーレット "Ship Carbon Recycling Working Group" of Japan's Carbon Capture & Reuse Study Group has confirmed that carbon recycled methane can be recognized as zero emission ship fuel

July 19, 2021

- Efforts to achieve zero emission by methanation technology published in journal of JIME -

ビンゴ ルーレット "Ship Carbon Recycling Working Group(WG)" of Japan's Carbon Capture & Reuse (CCR) Study Group has confirmed that carbon recycled methane produced by methanation technology (Note 1) can be recognized as zero emission ship fuel. A technical paper describing ビンゴ ルーレット details of ビンゴ ルーレット calculation procedure and evaluation conducted by ビンゴ ルーレット WG has been published in ビンゴ ルーレット latest issue of ビンゴ ルーレット journal of Japan Institute of Marine Engineering.

Carbon recycling, which is ビンゴ ルーレット process of capturing and reusing emitted CO₂, is becoming increasingly important as one of ビンゴ ルーレット pathways to realize a carbon-neutral society.
To explore ビンゴ ルーレット feasibility of ビンゴ ルーレット concept of utilizing methanation technology for zero-emission ship fuels (Note2), ビンゴ ルーレット WG was formed within Japan’s CCR Study Group, and started its activity in July 2020.
Since it is a basic premise for ビンゴ ルーレット WG’s activity that carbon recycled methane can be recognized as zero-emission fuel, ビンゴ ルーレット WG firstly worked on ビンゴ ルーレット evaluation of its potential.

While International Maritime Organization (IMO) has yet to develop ビンゴ ルーレット rules for calculating emissions from ビンゴ ルーレット onboard fuel combustion of carbon recycled methane (Tank to Propeller), ビンゴ ルーレット importance to be cognizant of CO₂ emissions in ビンゴ ルーレット fuel supply process(Well to Tank) has been noted.
ビンゴ ルーレット WG has assumed and evaluated (Note 4) ビンゴ ルーレット following four processes as ビンゴ ルーレット supply chain for carbon-recycled methane fuel: (1) CO₂ separation and capture, (2) CO₂ transportation, (3) methanation fuel synthesis, and (4) methanation fuel liquefaction. As a result, ビンゴ ルーレット CO₂ emission per unit calorific value of carbon-recycled methane fuel by methanation was calculated as approximately 27-gCO₂/MJ (regarded as Well to Propeller).

This figure is comparable to other alternative fuel candidates generally recognized as zero-emission fuels, confirming that carbon-recycled methane can be recognized as zero emission ship fuel. In addition, further reduction to approximately 20-gCO₂/MJ is expected by improving ビンゴ ルーレット efficiency of ビンゴ ルーレット separation and capture technology, and using electricity produced from renewable energy.
A technical paper describing ビンゴ ルーレット details of ビンゴ ルーレット calculation procedures and evaluation involved in this study was published in ビンゴ ルーレット journal of Institute of Japan Marine Engineering, Vol. 56, No. 4.

In order to verify ビンゴ ルーレット feasibility of carbon recycled methane as a ship fuel, ビンゴ ルーレット WG will continue to work on issues such as CO₂ transportation by large-scale liquified CO₂ carrier vessels, supply of hydrogen from renewable energy, prevention of methane slip (Note 5), supply infrastructure of liquefied methanation fuel, and economic viability.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. has set a medium- to long-term target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in ビンゴ ルーレット "MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1", and has implemented five initiatives to achieve this goal. ビンゴ ルーレット WG's confirmation that carbon recycled methane can be recognized as zero-emission ship fuel will contribute to ビンゴ ルーレット further promotion of ビンゴ ルーレット "adoption of clean alternative fuels" and ビンゴ ルーレット "expanding low-carbon and decarbonization projects through use of ビンゴ ルーレット MOL Group’s concentrated strengths" and will continue to work together with industry leaders to reduce GHG emissions.

(Note 1)
Methanation is a technology for synthesizing methane, ビンゴ ルーレット main component in natural gas, by causing a chemical reaction between hydrogen and CO₂ in a reactor vessel filled with a catalyst. It uses emitted CO₂ separated and captured from industrial facilities. As ビンゴ ルーレット CO₂ generated when combusting synthesized methane is considered to be offset by ビンゴ ルーレット separated and captured CO₂, it is expected that CO₂ emissions can be significantly reduced by using hydrogen generated by electrolyzing water with electricity derived from renewable energy.

(Note 2)
IMO considering measures to reduce GHG emissions in international shipping, adopted ビンゴ ルーレット IMO GHG initial strategy in April 2018, aiming to improve carbon intensity of ビンゴ ルーレット sector by at least 40% by 2030 and reduce annual GHG emissions by at least 50% in 2050, both compared to 2008 levels, and eventually phase out GHG emissions as early as possible within ビンゴ ルーレット century. Carbon recycled methane by methanation has gathered attention as a highly expected technology for ビンゴ ルーレット realization of GHG zero emission.

(Note 3)
ビンゴ ルーレット CCR Study Group was established with ビンゴ ルーレット objectives of proposing effective carbon neutral measures to reduce ビンゴ ルーレット use of fossil fuels by offering alternative energies such as synthetic methane, which is generated by combining CO₂ generated by industries with renewable energy-derived hydrogen, and contributing to ビンゴ ルーレット establishment of a new energy supply system by 2050.

(Note 4)
ビンゴ ルーレット assumed supply chain in ビンゴ ルーレット study spans multiple countries, ビンゴ ルーレット consideration may be necessary to which country emitted CO₂, including ocean-going shipping transportation, should be allocated, but that has yet to be determined as no international framework or agreement has been formed.

(Note 5)
Methane slip is ビンゴ ルーレット unburned and exhausted methane from ビンゴ ルーレット main engine. Methane is GHG with 25 times greenhouse effect of CO₂

(Figure 1: Roles of nine member companies)

(Member of Ship Carbon Recycling Working Group)

EX Research Institute Ltd.	Hiroshi Naito President
Hitachi Zosen Corporation	Sadao Mino President & Chief Operating Officer
JFE Steel Corporation	Yoshihisa Kitano President and CEO
JGC Corporation	Yutaka Yamazaki Representative Director, President
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (WG coordinator)	Takeshi Hashimoto President & CEO
Nihon Shipyard Co.,Ltd.	Yoshinori Maeta President
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai(ClassNK) (WG secretariat)	Hiroaki Sakashita President & CEO
Nippon Steel Corporation	Eiji Hashimoto President
Shin Kurushima Sanoyas Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.	Youji Morimoto President & CEO