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Quadrise Fuels International has released its end-of-year update regarding ongoing projects. Progress has been reported on the company's MSAR emulsion fuel project to produce a low-cost alternative to heavy fuel oil.

Quadrise previously confirmed, on March 17th 2016, that the shipment of equipment to CEPSA's Gibraltar-San Roque refinery [pictured] had started, and that it had commenced civil works for the installation of a MSAR manufacturing unit and associated systems at the designated Marine MSAR production facility within the CEPSA plant.

Since then, the first batch of Marine MSAR fuel has been manufactured. It was then transferred to a Maersk Line vessel that will undergo the first ever operational trial with the product. At the conclusion of the trial, Quadrise expects to find that the MSAR provided 4,000 hours of engine operation over approximately 9 months.

All trials on the fuel should be concluded by the spring of 2017, according to Quadrise, and the next steps will be made known afterwards.

In addition to the CEPSA project, Quadrise says it has also made positive progress with other refiners for the commercial roll-out of marine MSAR fuels for the shipping industry following the conclusion of the operational trial programme.

Quadrise says that there have been further discussions with clients in Saudi Arabia on the 'production to combustion' pilot programme. The launch of Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' economic reform plan in April 2016 is said to have had a short-term impact on the clients' decision making process for the programme. As a result, the company believes that the project timescales are now likely to be extended beyond the spring of 2017.

Research programmes carried out at the University of Surrey are said to have been making progress, as well a technical partnership with Akzo Nobel. These projects are designed to improve Quadrise's proprietary technology and knowledge about the production of MSAR fuels.