The vessel was supplied with 246.5 mt of VLSFO, including 34.5 mt of co-processed CNSL VLSFO. File Image / Pixabay

Olam Agri and Vitol Bunkers have completed a bio-bunkering operation in Singapore using VLSFO co-processed with cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL).

A total of 246.5 mt of fuel was supplied to vessel Scion Mathilda, comprising 212 mt of conventional VLSFO and 34.5 mt of co-processed CNSL VLSFO, Olam Agri said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

The fuel was supplied by Vitol Bunkers and procured by Olam Agri’s ocean freight business.

The fuel was consumed during the vessel’s voyage from Caofeidian, China, to Rotterdam and its subsequent ballast voyage to Barcarena, Brazil.

The vessel consumed 34.1 mt of the co-processed fuel without any operational issues, according to the companies.

The fuel has a GHG intensity of 2.02 gCO2eq/MJ and delivered at least 120 tonnes of CO2 equivalent savings compared with conventional VLSFO.

Co-processed fuels are made by integrating renewable feedstocks into existing refinery processes alongside fossil fuels. This differs from conventional biofuels, which are generally produced from organic feedstocks in dedicated biorefineries.

The resulting fuel can be used as a drop-in fuel in existing vessels without modifications, while retaining the chemical characteristics and quality required for conventional marine fuel.

The co-processed fuel used in the trial meets the RMG 380 VLSFO grade and required no additional onboard handling or fuel treatment.

CNSL is a by-product of cashew processing.

Vitol said its co-processing and mass-balance approach allows it to be used in marine fuel without the handling and compatibility issues associated with direct blending.

"The mass balance solution we have developed opens up a genuinely new avenue for GHG reduction in marine fuels," Sherman Yeo, Trading Manager of Vitol Bunkers, said.