Future Fuels Onboard UK Warships

UK warships and auxiliaries need to operate worldwide and any changes to the fuel infrastructure at ports needs to be considered early so that the necessary changes to onboard machinery and operations can be identified and their impacts assessed. This paper considers the impact of storing and using blends of diesel with biofuels onboard warships. The biodiesel could be derived from any natural feedstock and could be of variable quality at point of delivery despite the emergence of international standards. The key areas of study were the storage stability (hot and cold temperatures), onboard treatment and fuel management to ensure a fuel of sufficient quality is supplied to the engines. The impact of biodiesel fuels on ship performance was also assessed with specific reference to fuel consumption (endurance) and power (top speed). Potential problems arising from the use of biodiesel could include a reduction in the reliability of equipment and common-mode failure sin the power and propulsion systems. Safety and availability can be affected by the greater risk of microbial induced corrosion (i.e. such as sulphur-reducing bacteria). Solutions to these problems are presented together with an estimate of the impacts associated with the changes to the warship.