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Post by YZFNick on Aug 18, 2005 20:21:20 GMT -8
Besides the Albion Ferries (Natural Gas), do any other vessels in North America or Europe run on anything besides good ol' diesel? What would the limitations be for a larger vessel to run natural gas or another fuel.
Also, does anyone know if any diesel engine can run on biodiesel (made from corn I believe)? Or would it have to be converted to run the new fuel?
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Post by Curtis on Aug 18, 2005 20:39:48 GMT -8
I belive that the Bio-diesel fuel is made from either sunflower seeds or soy beans. and no ship uses some fuel other than that fossil fuel crap thats weakening our atmosphere they need to come up with that alternitive fuel NOW than everyone can stop the fuel surcharges than it'll be cheaper to drive a car (Im not mad at the surcharge or crazy about the enviroment)
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Post by NMcKay on Aug 18, 2005 20:59:15 GMT -8
THe albion ferries RAN on NG, they now run on desel. at one point the Vic Clipper 4 used Jet fuel, but they were unable to get cost savings vs power. so they went to Regular MD
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Doug
Voyager 
Lurking within...the car deck.
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Doug on Aug 18, 2005 21:36:05 GMT -8
I agree...biodiesel is a start but the fuel cell is an even better idea...oil has been ruining our atmosphere, and, now, our economy. A buck a litre is a joke! I remember just a few years ago you'd see it at 50!
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Post by Ferryman on Aug 18, 2005 22:11:18 GMT -8
Yeah, its obvious those days are long gone with Gas being around 50 cents. Its really dumb for these gas prices to go up like this just in time for me to get my N next month.  Too bad you couldn't fill your car up with a garden hose... |
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Post by hergfest on Aug 19, 2005 0:14:10 GMT -8
WSF tested Bio-Diesel in pure form and in a 80-20 mix, they found it clogged up the fuel filters. They have been working on a fix, but until that happens they have converted back to pure diesel. I believe the Elwha ran Biodiesel, and the boats on the Vashon run were on the 80-20 mix.
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Post by cascade on Aug 19, 2005 10:20:36 GMT -8
There has been a few gas - experimental vessel around - but they all / most run on MDO and heavy oil - which gets pre-heated - a lot cheaper than MDO
The design of the hulls and top side and prop's all work together - plus even the material they are made from. The ship building has changed a lot over the years and the "light weight" of the vessel is dropping which makes them a lot lighter - and good hull design - easier to "push" through the water - hence very good fuel efficiencies. Also I forgot to mention the engines have really come on in the last 5 years. A lot of ferry companies are reporting massive savings in there fuel bill - due to engine efficiency.
One company here in Spain - report savings on there fleet of around 15M euros in fuel - due to the new engines. They also added 3 new vessel - dropped the 2 older ones.
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Post by Ian on Aug 19, 2005 16:25:30 GMT -8
Cruise ships now use gas turbine engines (not desiel) and they use the heat from the exhauste to power steam generators to make more power for the engines because the electric engines inside the azipods need power.
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Post by BrianWilliams on Aug 20, 2005 0:40:17 GMT -8
"Bio-diesel" isn't quite as exotic as sunflower oil. It is a mixture of used cooking oil (ex-McDonald's fry grease), recycled motor oil, and skimmed oil from sewage treatment plants. The "sewage" oil may be a bit of your buttered clam dinner; but it's mostly storm-drain runoff from roads and parking lots. In any case, the recovered oils are mixed with virgin diesel fuel to achieve a light viscosity. Another plan was to use compressed natural gas (CNG) in diesel motors. Unfortunately, natural gas went up in price along with diesel fuel. CNG tanks are large and dangerous as well. So far, the CNG option is working effectively only in stationary land-based generators. See these guys for more info: www.westport.com |
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Post by NMcKay on Aug 20, 2005 8:15:43 GMT -8
except in the addition to the albion ferries. they now run 100% MDO, but at one point it was 100% CNG, but with the last refits the NG system was removed, to make way for a cheaper (at the time) MDO system
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Aug 22, 2005 0:30:34 GMT -8
I belive that the Bio-diesel fuel is made from either sunflower seeds or soy beans. and no ship uses some fuel other than that fossil fuel crap thats weakening our atmosphere they need to come up with that alternitive fuel NOW than everyone can stop the fuel surcharges than it'll be cheaper to drive a car (Im not mad at the surcharge or crazy about the enviroment) bio diessel is made from soy beans in fact they use it on the Issaquah Tilikum and Klahowya |
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Post by cascade on Aug 22, 2005 6:09:00 GMT -8
I think with the high prices - which will or could stay with us for a while - that owners will be looking at other sources of fuel - for the long term.
Do you remember the old cars - gas guzzler. Well the older vessels also use a lot more fuel that they should as compared to newer vessels. Like in the airline business - they have reviewed there fleet of airplanes and getting rid of the older models. Truck companies do the same. So why not the Ferry business? Same type of transport - only over water - as compared to Air and land (Road)
Therefore going back to an very early post of mine - I am against the slice & dice of the Vessel to extend it life. The engines and hull shape - just don't work with the additional weight and length. Engineer has pointed out the cost of "bringing out the classic vessels each day the flog them to death - only for more people required to keep them a float". He wanted to work on them - but only bring them out on a nice sunny day - like you would do with a classic car.
Running these "classic" vessels cost money in man power and fuel.
We need to save fuel and use it correctly.
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