HVO – from cooking fat to fuel

Combustion engines are criticised because their CO₂ emissions contribute to climate change. However, it's not quite that simple because the CO₂ comes from the fuel, not the engine. This means that if they are run using largely climate-neutral fuels, diesel engines can easily continue being used in the future for applications in which they are superior to electric drives – for example in agricultural engineering, construction machinery or on the railway. HVO (hydrogenated/hydrotreated vegetable oils) is one such climate-friendly substitute for diesel. This fuel is not made from specially grown crops but rather from waste – so there is no ‘food or fuel’ issue. In addition to plant waste, other waste material such as used cooking oil or animal waste can be used as raw materials for HVO production. They can therefore be put to good use instead of being disposed of. This also makes HVO sustainable.

HVO has been produced for years and it has proved effective in practice. One of the pioneers in this field is the Finnish company Neste. According to Neste, the company’s HVO could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 percent compared with fossil diesel. What’s more, HVO can be used in any diesel engine – both as a pure product or as a mixture. According to the manufacturer, the fuel quality is so high that local emissions of particles, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide can be reduced compared with fossil diesel.

All marine and off-road diesel engines from the current MAN Engines range can be operated using HVO in accordance with the EN15940 standard in Europe and the US specification ASTM D975. By burning regenerative diesel, they emit up to 30 percent fewer particles and up to 10 percent fewer nitrogen oxides (NOX). Above all, however, regenerative diesel ensures clean combustion with up to 90 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions in the exhaust gas compared with conventional diesel. At the same time, there is no need for customers to worry about loss of performance or disadvantages in terms of service and maintenance intervals. The exhaust aftertreatment also works without a hitch. In short, HVO is an simple and fully adequate replacement for conventional diesel.