Comparison of fuel properties of alternative drop-in fuels with standard marine diesel and the effects of their blends

Drop-in fuels are biofuels or synthetic fuels designated to be blended with conventional petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. These alternative fuel blends can be used without major modifications of the engine or the fuel system. Thus, the use of drop-in fuels offers the marine sector a good first opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint and other emissions. This work investigates the miscibility and compatibility of different potential drop-in fuels with standard distillate marine diesel in order to provide an initial outlook on possible use in the maritime sector based on their fuel characteristics. The five drop-in fuels Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), Oxymethylene ether (OME), Hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO), Fischer-Tropsch diesel (FTD) and a pyrolysis oil (HDO) were mixed at 10, 30 and 50 % with standard marine distillate diesel and the physical and chemical properties, the distillation curves and the corrosion stability as well as the storability were analysed. All drop-in fuels can be blended with DMA. Due to the chemically different composition of OME, the distillation curve of the blends significantly differs from the distillation curve of DMA, which should be taken into consideration when using these new alternative blends. Furthermore, the blends of OME and FTD show an unexpected corrosion, which is not observed in the pure drop-in fuels. This is expected to have a considerable influence on the engine operation as well as on the storage.