Oak Ridge and Caterpillar develop methanol system for marine diesel engines
In the United States, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Caterpillar have developed a dual fuel combustion system that allows marine diesel engines to run on more than 75 percent methanol, the laboratory said on June 2.
The system addresses methanol’s poor ignition in compression-ignition diesel engines, a barrier for inland and coastal vessels. The approach pairs methanol with a small amount of diesel used as a pilot fuel to start combustion, enabling dual fuel operation across a wide range of power levels without reducing performance, according to project lead Derek Splitter.
The research was conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Caterpillar at the Department of Energy’s National Transportation Research Center. Deployment would require engine updates but avoids a full redesign, and engines retain the ability to run on diesel alone.
Category: Sustainable Marine Fuels
