The Future Of Fuel
Published: Tuesday, March 17, 2020
By: Jordan Balbresky
As boaters, we walk a fine line when it comes to the environment. Whatever focus you have for your time on the water, the very nature of our enjoyment of our sports rely on a safe and healthy environment—whether in regard to the fish and bird population for hunting, fishing, and diving, or clean air and water for sailing, cruising, wakeboarding, and swimming.
To promote this healthy environment, we have to do our part. Of course, we know that eliminating and cleaning up litter and avoiding oil pollution are very visible ways that we can help. However, the real 600-pound gorilla in the room is carbon pollution. There is constant talk among the scientific community and leading environmental protection organizations about the need for reducing our carbon footprint or eliminating the emission of greenhouse gases. For years, many long-distance cruisers adopted solar and wind power for their auxiliary equipment like lights, navigation equipment, refrigerators, and air-conditioning. They had to resort to alternative power sources out of necessity; they just didn’t carry enough fuel. Now, we as a community are starting to get onboard with reducing our invisible impact on the environment. We have the option to add, and many boat builders have started to include as standard, low-draw LED lighting and the latest in super-insulated freezers to conserve power.
When it comes to our direct impact on the environment, we still can’t get away from the fact that we rely on the burning of fossil fuels in larger gas or diesel motors to propel our vessels and generators for our power needs. There are two choices for how to deal with the burning of fossil fuels and the accompanying emissions that are produced. The first is to use an alternative to internal combustion engines like the electric motors or hybrid systems similar to those made by Torqueedo or EP Carry. Though we are getting close and it may be only a few years away, the technology is just not there yet for an affordable system, with the comparable weight and power of a large horsepower diesel or gas engine.
The second option—find an alternative to fossil fuels—requires a change to our entire infrastructure. Or does it?
A company named Gevo has developed technology for producing sustainable fuels that are chemically identical to the gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels that we use today. Created from agricultural products like #2 yellow dent corn, which represents about 99% of corn grown in the U.S. and is currently used for animal feed and industrial uses—not corn that we can eat—the environmental benefits to this product are substantial. For example, Gevo’s Isobutanol is a colorless liquid found naturally in fruits and in distilled spirits like whiskey. It has low water solubility and properties like a hydrocarbon or fossil fuel due to its chemical structure. Isobutanol is produced using sustainable farming practices that actually have a negative carbon footprint. It’s a high-grade fuel that actually burns more efficiently and cleaner than regular gasoline that can not only be distributed using today’s infrastructure, but also improves the performance and even increases the lifespan of an engine. Gevo’s bio-based Isobutanol has been officially endorsed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) as a drop-in fuel for marine and recreational boat engines. It is a proven product as well—the company currently produces jet fuel for airlines like Delta and high-octane fuels for Formula One race cars using this process.
Unlike the Ethanol, Isobutanol is the perfect solution for boaters. Ethanol is added to fuel to help reduce hydrocarbon emissions that cause air pollution. While effective in cars, ethanol-blended fuel is a bit of a challenge in the marine environment. It is solvent and will tend to dissolve and loosen deposits in a tank and fuel system, which can cause clogging of the system. Also, when ethanol-blended gasoline comes into contact with water, it will absorb some or all of that water and separate in a process called “phase-separation.”
So, let’s break it down… there is currently a product that exists, not in science fiction, that is a sustainable, proven replacement for fossil fuels, produced with a negative carbon footprint, requiring no change to our current infrastructure, that results in longer life and more power from our marine engines… what is the downside? Simply put: demand. In order to be available at marinas and local gas stations nationwide, it needs to be produced on a large scale, which means that there has to be demand. So, what are we waiting for? If enough of us ask our marinas if they carry Gevo’s sustainable fuels, then they will request it from their distributors and Gevo will be able to start manufacturing it in quantities. It’s up to us, as boaters, to help make this a reality. So, let’s get cranking!
About Jordan Balbresky
A former public relations practitioner serving the high-tech and consumer electronics industries, Jordan Balbresky returned to the agency world following a decade of hands-on marine experience. Living in the Caribbean and working in all aspects of the marine industry—from boat building, restoration and maintenance, to charter captain and delivery crew of sailing and motor yachts—Balbresky has a first-hand understanding of the outdoor and maritime markets. Fully immersing himself in the industry, he is a licensed scuba instructor, as well as master mariner and has lived on-board a custom-built schooner while skippering charters on boats of all sizes in the US Virgin Islands.
tags: Environmental Impact, Fuel Treatments
