Quadrise launches new, 'sustainable' bioMSAR fuel product

Quadrise Fuels confirmed the launch of a new, sustainable fuel product ‘bioMSAR’ on Tuesday, which it described as a synthetic alternative to heavy fuel oil, with “significantly reduced” greenhouse gas emissions.

The AIM-traded firm said bioMSAR uses its ‘MSAR’ technology to combine renewable glycerol with water and refinery residues, to produce an oil-in-water emulsified synthetic heavy fuel oil.

It said the primary benefits of bioMSAR over heavy fuel oil were lower emissions, including 20% to 30% less carbon dioxide, lower nitrous oxide, and lower particulates.

The company said glycerol is a benign chemical that is colourless, odourless, water soluble, non-volatile and biodegradable, adding that as a fuel, glycerol has “excellent” lubricity, burns almost pollutant-free and is virtually carbon neutral.

BioMSAR offered similar carbon dioxide emissions reductions as using liquefied natural gas (LNG) in place of heavy fuel oil, the company claimed.

LNG, however, requires cryogenic storage and liquefaction systems, with the potential risk of methane slip during use that materially impacts potential greenhouse gas reductions, while bioMSAR fuel would use existing low-cost heavy fuel oil infrastructure and systems, and did not contain methane.

Quadrise said the production of bioMSAR used the same MSAR technology that produces oil-in-water emulsion fuel oil to reduce energy costs for consumers, and improve refinery profitability and yields, with the new fuel product “fully compatible and interchangeable” with conventional MSAR fuel.

A new patent had been filed in the UK jointly with Quadrise's intellectual property partner, Nouryon Surface Chemistry.

“The development and launch of bioMSAR is a real success story for the company,” said chief executive officer Jason Miles.

“Having planned a roadmap for a sustainable fuel product earlier in the year, the innovative Quadrise team has made outstanding progress in bringing our glycerol-based biofuel from concept to market in such a short time, including the filing of a new joint patent application with Nouryon.”

Miles said the company’s original target for bioMSAR was a 10% to 20% reduction in carbon dioxide compared with heavy fuel oil, pointing out that 20% to 30% had been achieved already, which compared “favourably” with LNG, although at a much lower cost for conversion.

“The inherent stability of our water-based fuel technology lends itself well to future biofuel applications to provide a simple and sustainable pathway to decarbonisation.

“We look forward to updating shareholders, as appropriate, on the results from planned engine and combustion testing of bioMSAR, new fuel developments, and commercial discussions with stakeholders in the biofuel supply chain during the coming months.”

At 1349 GMT, shares in Quadrise Fuels International were up 7.68% at 2.05p.