Comments
WestEst101 OP t1_iure9qh wrote
>The shipping industry is responsible for three per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions — an amount equivalent to what Germany emits every year. But across the globe, 99 per cent of shipping is currently powered by burning fossil fuels, such as bunker fuel and marine diesel. (As a replacement) Bio-methanol — which can be synthesized from any large biomass, such as crops — is a leading contender. "Bio-methanol is up and coming, and I think it's where we should go if we really want to go green," said Svensson. , which may be somewhat cheaper to produce than methanol, is another contender.
>"We need to [eliminate fossil fuel production] really quickly and that would knock out 40 per cent of shipping," said Sandford.
heresyforfunnprofit t1_iurp0e3 wrote
How much coal and diesel is being burned to power the synthesis of the bio-methanol?
FuturologyBot t1_iurjcmc wrote
The following submission statement was provided by /u/WestEst101:
>The shipping industry is responsible for three per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions — an amount equivalent to what Germany emits every year. But across the globe, 99 per cent of shipping is currently powered by burning fossil fuels, such as bunker fuel and marine diesel. (As a replacement) Bio-methanol — which can be synthesized from any large biomass, such as crops — is a leading contender. "Bio-methanol is up and coming, and I think it's where we should go if we really want to go green," said Svensson. , which may be somewhat cheaper to produce than methanol, is another contender.
>"We need to [eliminate fossil fuel production] really quickly and that would knock out 40 per cent of shipping," said Sandford.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/yk5zxi/with_cop27_on_the_horizon_shipping_industry/iure9qh/
Cloudboy9001 t1_ius2tp3 wrote
Perhaps nuclear powered cargo ships (which could use unenriched uranium in heavy water boiler setups) would be an ideal option: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2020/11/09/international-marine-shipping-industry-considers-nuclear-propulsion/?sh=9d6eb57562cc
_CodyB t1_ivdaxm2 wrote
Seems like an ideal solution but also dangerous and geopoliticslly contentious
duckduckohno t1_iut69u3 wrote
Look at me, I'm the captain ^of ^a ^nuclear ^vessel now.
Surur t1_iuru6ao wrote
The most interesting bit for me:
> "We need to [eliminate fossil fuel production] really quickly and that would knock out 40 per cent of shipping," said Sandford.
It turns out much of the carbon footprint of shipping is moving fossil fuel around, meaning if we reduce our use of oil and coal for example, then the amount released by shipping will also reduce. With EVs likely replacing ICE cars over the next 20 years much of this will happen automatically.