Fri 20 Aug 2010, 10:02 GMT

EcoloCap announces EPA testing on M-Fuel


US firm to start testing emulsified diesel fuel as it aims to get EPA approval.



EcoloCap Solutions Inc., an innovator of alternative energy products, has announced that it has reached an agreement with Emtech Fuels, a new partnership formed by a group of Oregon business men active in the fields of finance, alternative fuel technologies and wholesale fuel sales, to start testing M-Fuel, with an accredited lab, to get local and EPA approval for the proprietary, emulsified diesel fuel.

EcoloCap says it will be shipping fuel samples to Emtech Fuels for initial combustion and corrosive testing before the end of September.

The accreditation will mean M-Fuel will have earned approval to be used as an alternative to low sulphur diesel for immediate use in both internal and external diesel engines, and in addition, meet the EPA emission reduction standard mandated for the year 2014.

Emtech is set to become the first distributor in the United States for the new fuel. According to the company, it has received letters of intention or other demonstrations of interest in Oregon for 30 million gallons a year for non-transportation fuel to be used in the cement, tar and asphalt industry and over 2 million gallons a day for commercial diesel.

The testing in the US will be carried out in parallel to the testing currently being done by the company in India.

M-Fuel is a post refinery fuel technology to process hydrocarbon-based heavy oils (kerosene, diesel and bunker fuel) using EcoloCap proprietary technology that employs electro-mechanical means to generate an H2O emulsion in sub micron fuel particles. The process also reduces the sulphur and nitrogen from the oil during processing to only 10 parts per million.

Emulsions are dispersions of two or more immiscible liquids. The described conditioned hydrocarbon-based fuel exhibits improved performance, has a greater BTU content, less particulate emissions and less non-particulate emissions than the unmodified hydrocarbon-based fuel. It also costs up to 20 percent less than the preprocessed fuel.

Michael Siegel, CEO, stated: "Since M-Fuel uses a minimum of 30 percent water, the implementation of M-Fuel represents by far the fastest way to reduce the amount of imported diesel into the US by 30 percent while reducing the cost of operation and emissions.

"The M-Fuel technology can be employed in internal and external combustion engines. At $3 per gallon for fuel, M-Fuel technology can save the operator up to 20% on the cost of fuel and maintenance, all-the-while reducing emissions beyond 2020 requirements. Another important aspect to the ECOS process is that unlike other emulsion oil technologies ECOS can use industrial or waste water. This is important in countries where waste water is dumped directly into the environment without processing, saving the potable water for non-industrial application," added Siegel.


Meera naming ceremony. Naming ceremony held for LPG dual-fuel ammonia carrier  

VLAC Meera named during event held in China on 10 July.

IMO Council 137th session IMO adopts Singapore-led resolution on protection of shipping lanes  

Thirty co-sponsors back a resolution reaffirming navigational rights under international law.

TT-Line Green Ship 2.0 illustration. TT-Line orders second LNG-hybrid battery ferry for Baltic Sea operations  

German ferry operator doubles down on LNG-hybrid technology with a second next-generation newbuild.

CMA CGM Notre Dame and Gas Agility ship-to-ship (STS) bunkering operation. CMA CGM Notre Dame receives first European bio-LNG bunkering during Rotterdam maiden call  

LNG-powered container ship takes on bio-LNG derived from agricultural waste.

Carnival Destiny steel cutting ceremony. Fincantieri marks 30 years with Carnival as steel cutting begins for new LNG-powered Carnival Destiny  

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has begun construction of the first of three new Ace-class ships for Carnival Cruise Line.

Svitzer Thames vessel. DP World and Svitzer bunker first HVO-fuelled harbour tug at London Gateway  

Carbon inset scheme expands as tug switches from marine diesel to HVO.

CM Shenzhen and Da Qing 268 ship-to-ship (STS) bunkering operation. Venture Energy and Sinopec HK complete 'Hong Kong’s largest ever green bunkering'  

Delivery of 1,000 tonnes of methanol to ro-ro vessel hailed as new record for Hong Kong.

Soo Yong Koo, Seascale Energy. Seascale Energy appoints Soo Yong Koo as business development director  

Industry veteran hired to drive customer growth in Asia and beyond.

Arctic Tern vessel. Wallenius Wilhelmsen takes delivery of first methanol-ready Shaper Class vessel  

The dual-fuel Arctic Tern will enter service on the Asia–Europe trade almost immediately.

Al Muraykh vessel. Hapag-Lloyd signs shore power agreement with Hamburg Port Authority  

Deal commits the carrier to using onshore power supply at all Hamburg terminals.