Flotta Verde! The Italian Navy’s Green Fleet Underway: The Story, in Pictures
by Commander Pasquale Tripodi (Italian Navy/Biofuels Digest) Italy’s Navy joins the global green fleet movement with its first sea trials and certifications. Including a dramatic at-sea rescue, powered by alternative fuel blends. The complete story, in pictures.
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On January 27th, ITS Foscari was refuelled with 30 cubic meters of green F76 and the day after, during the sea trial, its two 6480 kW/each propulsion diesel engines and its three 940 kW/each gensets on board burned 28 cubic meters (740 gallons) of NATO naval fuel standard compliant green F76.
The green F76 was blended with 50% in volume of petroleum derived marine gasoil and 50% of second generation advanced biofuel obtained through the Ecofining hydro-treatment process, developed by ENI and Honeywell’s UOP to convert fatty acids and triglycerides, (acquired via vegetable oils and tallow).
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The green F76 experimentation will continue this year with the aim to certify the gas turbine-based propulsion systems on board of Aircraft Carrier “Cavour” and Orizzonte Class Destroyers while the first military flight test run on a 50/50 blend of conventional jet fuel and a new generation biofuel is foreseen within the end of 2015.
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Commercial scale production of Green Diesel will start in April 2014 in the ENI biorefinery located in Venice, using Ecofining™ technology. Certified sustainable palm oil, in accordance with the European Union strict standards (set by the Directive 2009/28/EC of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources), will be used for the biorefinery initial run.
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Even though the Venetian plant is not a new building, it is first of its kind — an oil refinery in the world converted into a biorefinery. With an annual 300.000 tons of Green Diesel standard rate production ENI will satisfy part of its obligations under the above mentioned renewable energy directive (2009/28/EU) that have set a mandatory 10 % minimum target to be achieved by all Member States for the share of biofuels in transport diesel consumption by 2020. READ MORE