Research & Development specialists at MTU are currently working on a range of projects to establish which fuels are most economical and efficient and what the best engines for them will be.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reads like a final warning: This late in the day, climate targets agreed upon internationally are going to prove very difficult to achieve and they will only be achievable at all if we act with unswerving determination. And those determined efforts must include the decision to say goodbye to fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas because burning these resources has been a major factor in the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
A future fuelled by hydrogen and methane?
The future lies with synthetically produced fuels that offer clean and climate-neutral combustion overall. One such fuel is hydrogen. It can be produced from renewable energy sources using electricity. Hydrogen can either be used directly or synthesized into methane using carbon dioxide. The big advantage of hydrogen and synthetic methane is that they produce no, or at least significantly less, polluting emissions during combustion. They can also be produced using electricity generated by wind power and photovoltaic installations. However, if not used immediately, this power has so far proved difficult to store. However a way to store that energy is to use it to produce fuel – that means transforming electrical energy into energy for powering engines.
Methanol: An alternative to LNG?
Methanol can be derived from methane and, as a liquid fuel, it is much easier to store. The benefits of methanol are especially obvious for marine applications. “Until now, LNG (liquefied natural gas) has been seen as a possible future fuel for ships. But LNG can only be transported and stored in high-pressure tanks or at temperatures of minus 164°. It is difficult to maintain such temperatures over longer periods of time,” explained Dr Peter Riegger, MTU Director Research & Technology. Methanol could provide an alternative because, unlike LNG, it does not require complex infrastructural storage facilities and can be integrated much more easily into marine vessels.
But methanol is not the ultimate step in the ongoing fuel development process. Methanol can be used to produce diesel alternatives such as DME and OME. These are synthetic fuels that could also be used in slightly modified diesel engines. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis processes can also be used to synthetically produce diesel fuel that fully conforms to environmental standards.