The present study seeks to select the most important articles and reviews from the Web of Science database that approached alternative fuels towards the decarbonization of the maritime sector. Through a systematic review methodology, a combination of keywords and manual refining found a contribution of 103 works worldwide, the European continent accounting for 57% of all publications. Twenty-two types of fuels were cited by the authors, liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and biodiesel contributing to 49% of the mentions. Greenhouse gases, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter reductions are some of the main advantages of cleaner sources if used by the vessels. Nevertheless, there is a lack of practical research on new standards, engine performance, cost, and regulations from the academy to direct more stakeholders towards low carbon intensity in the shipping sector.
The present study has as an objective on exploring the lignocellulosic residues from European agriculture as an energy source for the production of bio Fischer-Tropsch diesel (bio FT-diesel) as a low carbon alternative to be used in the European maritime sector, based on a techno-economic methodology of residue collection combined with the production yield of FT-Diesel available on literature. It permitted us to find a potential production of 8.5 million tons (Mton) of biofuel across 11 countries, and the reduction of 26 Mton of CO2 annually. The study contributes to the understanding that the fuel could be only cost-competitive if the crude oil reaches values between 10.45-16.91 €/GJ. In addition, the low technology status of bio FT-diesel production and the lack of biofuel standards to the maritime sector are limitations that can only be addressed with effective regulations added to research and development from collection to production and consumption.
In view of the relevance of the exploitation of renewable resources on the world stage, this article analyzes the economic viability and the potential production of biofuels (natural gas) from lignocellulosic resources from the residual biomass of sugar cane straw and biomass forest residues (BFR) in Brazil and Portugal respectively. The transformation route was based on the gasification of biomass in a circulating bed gasifier and atmospheric air as an oxidizing agent. The results show that, in profitable terms, the Brazilian scenario proved to be more attractive than the Portuguese for an autonomous gasification plant. As for an attached factory in a paper and cellulose industry, the Portuguese scenario is more advantageous. However take into consideration the raw material availability, the Brazilian territory becomes more competitive than the Portuguese due to the extensive area of agricultural production. These peculiarities demonstrate that the transformation of residual biomass into advanced fuels through gasification still needs research and development (R&D) a factor that limits private investors to explore this route. Finally, incentives and regulatory measures are suggested in order to boost the advanced biofuel as a consolidate route.
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