Smart polymer treatment improves moisture control and emissions in Marine Fuel and Biodiesel blends — enhancing performance, reducing corrosion, and supporting greener shipping.
Marine diesel engines are powerful machines that keep global shipping moving — but there’s one tiny troublemaker that can cause major chaos: water 💧
Even in very small amounts, moisture in marine fuel can:
This issue becomes even worse when ships use Biodiesel blends, because biodiesel is hygroscopic — meaning it absorbs moisture easily like a sponge.
With global regulations like IMO 2020 pushing cleaner fuels, the maritime sector needs new ways to improve fuel stability and environmental performance. That’s where a clever polymer-based solution comes in!
Researchers explored a hydrophilic polymer called polyacrylamide (PAM) — a material widely used in water treatment and oil recovery.
It has polar amide groups that love grabbing onto water molecules 🤝💧
So what happens if we drop a bit of Polyacrylamide into Marine Gas Oil (MGO) or Biodiesel blends?
✨ It physically absorbs the water without chemically changing the fuel.
✨ The now-hydrated polymer can be easily removed by filtration.
✨ All done at room temperature — no heating required!
This makes the method:
✅ Additive-free
✅ Low-energy
✅ Cost-effective
✅ Scalable for onboard or port-side fuel conditioning
It’s a smart upgrade to shipping fuel handling!
Researchers tested:
Then they introduced a tiny amount of Polyacrylamide powder.
Only one hour later ⏱️ … they measured the results using Karl Fischer titration, a gold-standard method for detecting water in fuels.
Water content dropped significantly:
| Fuel Type | Before PAM | After PAM | % Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Gas Oil (MGO) | 29.3 mg/kg | 19.15 mg/kg | 34.6% |
| MGO + Biodiesel Blend | 32.04 mg/kg | 20.34 mg/kg | 36.5% |
Both reductions happened within 60 minutes 🚢⚡
And importantly — other key properties stayed within ISO 8217 standards, including:
Meaning:
Performance stays reliable ✅
Safety stays intact ✅
Fuel quality improves ✅
By reducing moisture, ships can expect:
🛠️ Less corrosion = fewer maintenance headaches
⚙️ Better combustion = smoother voyages
🌫️ Reduced smoke & harmful emissions = cleaner air
💸 Longer fuel storage life = lower costs
The study specifically highlights lower emissions of:
That means this polymer technique supports:
✅ IMO 2020 sulfur and emissions standards
✅ Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action)
✅ The shipping industry’s push toward net-zero operations
Cleaner oceans + cleaner skies = happier planet 🌍💙
Most fuel-drying methods rely on:
⛽ Chemical additives
🔄 Energy-intensive separation
🔥 Heat-based drying
But Polyacrylamide brings something new:
| Feature | Advantage |
|---|---|
| Physical moisture adsorption | No altering fuel chemistry |
| Low dosage requirement | Cost-savings |
| Ambient temperature process | Energy efficiency |
| Easy removal of polymer | Compatibility with existing filters |
It’s practical for both:
Plus — Polyacrylamide is commonly reusable after water release during regeneration ♻️
(That’s some circular economy goodness!)
One of the biggest challenges with biodiesel in marine fuel is extra moisture:
Biodiesel → absorbs water → causes combustion problems → increases emissions
This polymer method helps:
✅ Prevent engine failures 🛠️
✅ Reduce microbial growth (ugh slime bugs) 🦠
✅ Enable higher biodiesel adoption in maritime shipping 🌱🚢
This supports the European Green Deal and renewable fuel goals — without compromising reliability.
A win for sustainability ✅
A win for fuel tech ✅
Inside the fuel, Polyacrylamide uses:
…to capture water droplets that are otherwise hard to remove.
Thermal testing confirmed the polymer stays stable inside fuel environments.
And decomposition profiles helped researchers understand how Polyacrylamide behaves when it lets go of captured moisture during regeneration.
It’s like a removable water magnet — clever and clean!
The study suggests several exciting directions:
🔬 Explore different polymer structures to increase moisture absorbency even more
📦 Integrate PAM directly into fuel filters so drying happens automatically
🏭 Scale up for bunker fuel operations serving the largest cargo fleets
🚢 Adapt for E-fuels, ammonia, and bio-derived alternatives as the industry transitions to greener energy
🌍 Life-Cycle & Techno-Economic Analysis to measure savings and environmental impact on a global scale
Imagine a future where smart polymers help every ship burn cleaner fuel. This study shows it’s closer than we think! ⚓✨
Let’s recap:
Polyacrylamide (PAM):
This fresh approach does not modify fuel composition — it simply makes fuels better. It’s an innovative step toward cleaner marine operations and more reliable use of biodiesel in shipping.
Sometimes, the smartest engineering solutions are beautifully simple 💡✨
Biodiesel 🌱 A renewable fuel made from things like vegetable oil or used cooking oil. It burns cleaner than regular diesel and helps reduce carbon emissions. - More about this concept in the article "Powering Cleaner Engines 🌱 Boosting Biodiesel Stability with Glycerol and Smart Catalysts".
Marine Fuel / Marine Gas Oil (MGO) ⚓ The type of fuel used in ships. It’s similar to diesel but designed for large marine engines that run long distances across oceans.
Polymer 🧩 A material made from long repeating molecules linked together — kind of like a molecular chain. Plastics are common polymers, but polymers like PAM have special abilities.
Polyacrylamide (PAM) 💧 A water-loving polymer that can grab and hold moisture. Here, it is used to remove water from fuels without changing how the fuel works.
Hygroscopic 🧽 Means something absorbs moisture easily from the air (like biodiesel acting as a little sponge).
Emissions 😶🌫️ Pollutants released from engines when fuel burns — including:
Lower emissions = cleaner air ✅
Corrosion 🛠️ Rust or chemical damage to metal parts. Water in fuel → rust in engines → expensive repairs. - More about this concept in the article "🛠️ Revolutionizing Steel Maintenance: AI's Role in Corrosion Diagnosis 💧 ⚠️".
ISO 8217 🧪 An international standard that says what quality marine fuel must have to safely power ships.
Karl Fischer Titration 🔬 A lab test used to measure the amount of water in oils and fuels very accurately.
IMO 2020 ⚖️ A major marine fuel regulation that limits sulfur emissions from ships to reduce pollution worldwide.
Sustainable Shipping 🌍🚢 Efforts to make global ocean transportation cleaner by reducing emissions and using greener fuels.
Source: Tzilantonis, G.; Zafeiriou, E.; Stimoniaris, A.; Kanapitsas, A.; Tsanaktsidis, C. Polymer-Driven Fuel Conditioning: A Novel Approach to Improving the Stability and Environmental Performance of Marine Fuels. Resources 2025, 14, 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources14110167
From: University of Western Macedonia; Democritus University of Thrace; University of Thessaly.
