MAN Marks Delivery of Multi-Fuel Capable ME-GIE Engine

MAN says the world's first ME-GIE ethane combusting two-stroke engine has been delivered.

MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (MAN) has announced that the world's first ME-GIE ethane combusting two-stroke engine, the multi-fuel capable Mitsui-MAN B&W 7G50ME-C9.5-GIE, has been delivered from MAN licensee Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) in Japan.

The engine - the first in a series of three - is said to benefit from the diesel principle running on mixtures of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), including volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

"The ME-GIE engine was originally designed for the combustion of ethane gas, however, research has revealed that it is possible to operate the engine on volatile organic compounds as well. Accordingly, it is also a potential solution for the propulsion of shuttle tankers and VLCCs," said René Sejer Laursen, Sales & Promotion Manager at MAN.

Specifically, the engine is said to be capable of running on a mixture of LPG, including VOCs and methane or ethane, with unchanged gas mode efficiency.

MAN says the fuel mixture may contain as much as 50 percent LPG, with findings indicating that even larger amounts of LPG could be added to the gas.

"The benefits of the diesel-type combustion are now fully exploited in the ability of the two-stroke engine to run on almost any gas quality without efficiency reductions, and in the complete combustion maintained by a relatively high gas injection pressure," explains MAN.

"MAN Diesel & Turbo sees significant opportunities in the development of this engine since the engine may also run on almost any form of waste gas."

Earlier this month, Ship & Bunker reported that Langh Tech Oy Ab (Langh Tech), through work with MAN, has developed a water treatment system to be used for cleaning the process water of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) systems.