Environmental Assessment Of Novel Biofuels For Marine Shipping

International shipping is one of the key contributors to climate changes due to the generated emissions to air (2% of global black carbon emissions and 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions) from marine fuels combustion. Furthermore, international shipping transportation is one of the highest consuming sectors of fossil fuels, consuming approximately 4% of global oil demand, 300 Mtonne of fuel annually. Usage of forest-based biofuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels in marine shipping seem as an attractive alternative. However, a system analysis perspective is needed to ensure its sustainability.

In the present study life cycle assessment was employed to estimate the environmental impacts of production and use of two forest-based biofuels from pulp and paper mills for marine shipping “biodiesel and bioethanol” and compare it to the currently used fossil fuels in the marine shipping industry “Marine gas oil (MGO) and heavy fuel oil”. Future projection scenarios in 2030 and 2050 for estimating the environmental impacts of a transition from fossil fuels to biofuels in Arctic shipping were studied as well.

The results indicated that a holistic view is very important for biofuels utilization. Production and use of forest-based bioethanol had significant lower impacts in climate change potential, but had higher impacts on the rest of the categories. Utilization of blinded mixes of bioethanol with MGO is recommended as it has better overall environmental performance.