Alternative fuels are energy sources defined as strategic by the Dafi Community Directive, which aims to de-carbonize the European Union, to be pursued with the use of alternative fuels in all EU countries. Driving green is a good habit, and it is not just about cars but transport in general.
An pertinent example is naval transport. In this context we put the Green Fleet project created to find an alternative product to the naval fossil fuel that was a biofuel composed of at least 50% from Green Diesel. A project that has seen the collaboration of chemical engineers Eni with naval engineers of the Navy which became the first body to operationally experiment with the Green Diesel, even in advance of the European deadline, which provides for the use of a 10% fraction of bio fuels by 2020.
Objective: to adopt more eco-efficient feeding systems that allow Italy to achieve the commitments undertaken in Europe on the containment of emissions of air pollutants, thanks to the reduction in consumption of petroleum derivatives.
From ships to public transport: the test in this case was carried out on Turin buses in order to help reduce pollution. The result of the experimentation? A reduction of fine powders of 40% and 16% particulate, NOx by 10% and the CO2 7% thanks to the use of fuel "Diesel Eni +". The tests were carried out on a 3 euro bus of the Turin public transport company in the Eni Research Center in San Donato Milanese, in collaboration with the Istituto Motori CNR in Naples. The results also show that the use of "Eni Diesel +" reduces fuel consumption by about 2%, but can arrive at up to 4% in the long run.
The reduction of emissions is due to the composition of the fuel that contains a 15% renewable biological component in which there are no aromatic and poly-aromatic compounds (precursors of the particulate) and a very low level of sulfur which allows a more homogeneous combustion and a reduction of the average temperature of combustion, with consequent reduction of nitrogen oxides. The renewable component is produced by the Eni Bio-refinery in Venice, thanks to a technology capable of converting any type of vegetable oil and animal fat into high-quality gas oil, including used cooking oils or non-edible vegetable sources. Eni plans to cover the entire Italian needs of biofuels by 2020, thanks also to the start-up of the Gela refinery, and to produce energy and fuel also from advanced raw materials, using innovative technologies.
