A tremendous amount of the fuel used is for the transportation of cargo overseas.

There are two primary reasons the vast majority of the fuel used in the shipping and cruise-line industry is diesel: it is less expensive and more efficient.

But, diesel is also the best fossil fuel with respect to mother nature.

The World’s Cleanest and Most Diverse Fossil Fuel: Diesel

Diesel is as close to an ideal fuel as refining companies can produce with respect to price, power output, and atmosphere-polluting gas emissions.

Per unit of measure — gallons, liters, barrels, etc., — diesel produces about 15% more energy than gasoline. In part, this is due to the fact that diesel is a denser fuel. All things being equal — even taking into account that diesel engines are heavier than gasoline engines — diesel engines are still 20-percent more efficient.

In other words, of two vehicles the same size, the vehicle fueled by diesel is going to use only 80 percent of the fuel a gasoline engine will require.

But, as impressive as the power output difference, more notable is the difference in toxic emission upon combustion.

Diesel fuel engines emit 98 percent less carbon monoxide than gasoline engines that do not have a catalytic converter, 97 percent less hydrocarbon, 69 percent fewer oxides of nitrogen and 15 percent less carbon dioxide.

Even Petrol cars with a catalytic converter produce 40 percent more carbon monoxide, 16 percent more hydrocarbons, and 15 percent more carbon dioxide than an engine that burns diesel fuel.

Diesel is a superior fuel in every respect — when power and pollutants are the qualifiers — except one: particulate matter.

Polluting Gases No, Solid Emissions Yes

The one emission diesel fuel engines do emit to a greater degree than gasoline engines is particulate matter — sulfur oxides — considerably more. If the particulate matter released by a diesel engine has a value of 100, gasoline engines release zero particulate matter.

Cleaning the Big Burners First: Power Generators, Ships, Port Vehicles and Equipment, Etc.

The majority of vehicles and heavy equipment are not propelled by the monolithic engines it requires to operate an 18,000-ton tower crane, a 60,000-ton cruise ship or a 220,000-ton cargo ship. Engines of that size burn unfathomable amounts of diesel.

One container ship burns as much as 50 million cars.

Even a relatively small port generator can burn 100 gallons of diesel in an hour.

Furthermore, unlike cars and commercial vehicles that usually only run a few hours a day, ships can be in operation for days at a time, even weeks.

Fuel Catalysts Serendipitous for Ship and Port Operations and Mother Nature

The world’s cargo and cruise ships and its port vehicles and equipment are not required to use pre-combustion diesel emissions catalysts even though a pre-combustion catalyst can reduce particulate matter by over 50 percent and reduce nitrous oxide emissions by up to 40 percent.

Fortunately, fuel catalysts benefit both the environment and the shipping, port, and cruise companies. Indeed, pre-combustion fuel catalysts can reduce fuel consumption by more than 12 percent. A 12 percent reduction in fuel consumption is synonymous with a 12 percent reduction in fuel costs.

The less fuel burned, the fewer the emissions. The less fuel burned, the lower the fuel costs.

Fuel catalysts are win-win.