Air emissions from ships in port : Does regulation make a difference?

Vessel operations at port play a particular role in port-related air emissions. Hotelling, manoeuvring and cruising operations in the harbour areas generate a large share of local and global pollution, external costs and public health issues. Emission abatement demands effective regulation for vessel compliance and enforcement adequacy in despite of geographic differences in jurisdiction. A connecting relation between regulatory frameworks and atmospheric pollution from vessels operations at port is so far, missing in literature. This paper aims at filling in this gap by addressing exhaust gasses (NOx, SOx, CO, CO2) and particles (PM2.5) released from operative vessels in port with differing regulatory frameworks (Las Palmas, St. Petersburg, and Hong Kong). Estimations are based on the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM) and AIS traffic information over a twelve-month timeframe. Contribution of this paper relates to revealing emission patterns of vessel operations in port and the assessment of current regulatory frameworks. Results and lower emission profiles shed light to sulphur regulation differences and the potential benefits in new policy measures (polluter pays principle, cold ironing and others) of accounting operative modes and shipping sub-sectors.Peer reviewe

Methane slip emissions from LNG vessels - review

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) have lead to increased utilization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for shipping. Due to very low sulphur content in LNG, the contribution to SOx emissions is negligible. NOx emissions depend on the engine combustion cycle and with LNG engines utilizing otto-cycle (or diesel cycle engines with post combustion treatment) also the strict IMO Tier III NOx limit can be achieved. In addition, it is shown that LNG utilization leads to significantly lower particle emissions compared to liquid marine fuels. Thus, LNG utilization has direct effects and indeed benefits on air quality and human health. Moreover, CO2 emission can be reduced with LNG use compared to diesel fuels, since LNG is mainly composed of methane with a higher H/C ratio compared to diesel. The hydrocarbon emissions, on the other hand, are higher with LNG compared to diesel fuels and mostly include the main component of LNG, methane. This ‘methane slip’ should be minimized because methane is astrong greenhouse gas and reduces the benefit of lower CO2 emissions. While the formation of methane slip is known to result from LNG combustion, there has been a lack of knowledge of the methane slip emission’s magnitude from the LNG engines. In this review paper, methane slip values are collected from the current literature and ship owner data is utilized to complement the data with engines from recent years. This will contribute to understanding the methane slip from the current LNG fleet. High-pressure 2-stroke slow speed (diesel cycle) engines already show very little methane slip today, while higher methane slip values are reported for low-pressure dual fuel engines. Out of 614 vessels with an identified LNG engine, the low-pressure dual fuel concept (either 4-S or 2-S) is also the most popular LNG engine technology found in 78.1% of the ships, while high-pressure dual fuel technology is found in 14.8% of the ships and lean burn spark ignited engines in 1.7%. This is reflected in the amount of methane slip data found in the scientific literature which focuses on low pressure dual-fuel-engines. The engine load has a significant effect on the methane slip formation. In general, the lower loads tend to increase the methane slip formation compared to higher engine loads

Methane slip emissions from LNG vessels - review

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) have lead to increased utilization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for shipping. Due to very low sulphur content in LNG, the contribution to SOx emissions is negligible. NOx emissions depend on the engine combustion cycle and with LNG engines utilizing otto-cycle (or diesel cycle engines with post combustion treatment) also the strict IMO Tier III NOx limit can be achieved. In addition, it is shown that LNG utilization leads to significantly lower particle emissions compared to liquid marine fuels. Thus, LNG utilization has direct effects and indeed benefits on air quality and human health. Moreover, CO2 emission can be reduced with LNG use compared to diesel fuels, since LNG is mainly composed of methane with a higher H/C ratio compared to diesel. The hydrocarbon emissions, on the other hand, are higher with LNG compared to diesel fuels and mostly include the main component of LNG, methane. This ‘methane slip’ should be minimized because methane is astrong greenhouse gas and reduces the benefit of lower CO2 emissions. While the formation of methane slip is known to result from LNG combustion, there has been a lack of knowledge of the methane slip emission’s magnitude from the LNG engines. In this review paper, methane slip values are collected from the current literature and ship owner data is utilized to complement the data with engines from recent years. This will contribute to understanding the methane slip from the current LNG fleet. High-pressure 2-stroke slow speed (diesel cycle) engines already show very little methane slip today, while higher methane slip values are reported for low-pressure dual fuel engines. Out of 614 vessels with an identified LNG engine, the low-pressure dual fuel concept (either 4-S or 2-S) is also the most popular LNG engine technology found in 78.1% of the ships, while high-pressure dual fuel technology is found in 14.8% of the ships and lean burn spark ignited engines in 1.7%. This is reflected in the amount of methane slip data found in the scientific literature which focuses on low pressure dual-fuel-engines. The engine load has a significant effect on the methane slip formation. In general, the lower loads tend to increase the methane slip formation compared to higher engine loads

STATE OF THE ART – AIS BASED EMISSION CALCULATIONS FOR THE BALTIC SEA SHIPPING

A system utilizing the Automatic Identification System (AIS) messages is used to estimate the exhaust emissions of ship traffic in the Baltic Sea area. Data analysis for 2006-2007 indicates that existing emission inventories underestimate annual NOx release and fuel consumption of maritime traffic

Modeling of the Concentrations of Ultrafine Particles in the Plumes of Ships in the Vicinity of Major Harbors

Marine traffic in harbors can be responsible for significant atmospheric concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs), which have widely recognized negative effects on human health. It is therefore essential to model and measure the time evolution of the number size distributions and chemical composition of UFPs in ship exhaust to assess the resulting exposure in the vicinity of shipping routes. In this study, a sequential modelling chain was developed and applied, in combination with the data measured and collected in major harbor areas in the cities of Helsinki and Turku in Finland, during winter and summer in 2010-2011. The models described ship emissions, atmospheric dispersion, and aerosol dynamics, complemented with a time-microenvironment-activity model to estimate the short-term UFP exposure. We estimated the dilution ratio during the initial fast expansion of the exhaust plume to be approximately equal to eight. This dispersion regime resulted in a fully formed nucleation mode (denoted as Nuc(2)). Different selected modelling assumptions about the chemical composition of Nuc(2) did not have an effect on the formation of nucleation mode particles. Aerosol model simulations of the dispersing ship plume also revealed a partially formed nucleation mode (Nuc(1); peaking at 1.5 nm), consisting of freshly nucleated sulfate particles and condensed organics that were produced within the first few seconds. However, subsequent growth of the new particles was limited, due to efficient scavenging by the larger particles originating from the ship exhaust. The transport of UFPs downwind of the ship track increased the hourly mean UFP concentrations in the neighboring residential areas by a factor of two or more up to a distance of 3600 m, compared with the corresponding UFP concentrations in the urban background. The substantially increased UFP concentrations due to ship traffic significantly affected the daily mean exposures in residential areas located in the vicinity of the harbors.Peer reviewe

Merenkulun päästökaupan vaikutukset

Tämä raportti antaa yleiskuvan vaikutuksista, joita meriliikenteen mahdollinen sisällyttäminen Euroopan päästökauppajärjestelmään (EU-ETS) aiheuttaisi. Raportti käsittelee muun muassa maailmanlaajuisia kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vähentämistoimenpiteitä, päätösten vaikutuksia merenkulun kustannuksiin ja päätösten vaikutuksia Suomen meriliikenteeseen ja talouteen. Päätöksiä siitä, millä tavalla ja missä laajuudessa merikuljetukset sisällytettäisiin EU:n tai IMOn globaaliin päästökauppajärjestelmään ei ole tehty. Tästä syystä raportissa esitetään useita kirjallisuudessa tarkasteltuja vaihtoehtoja, käsitellään päästökaupan tehokkuutta päästövähennyskeinona ja arvioidaan hiilidioksidipäästöoikeuksien kustannusvaikutuksia erilaisille laivatyypeille erityisesti Suomelle merkityksellisissä merikuljetuksissa. Tarkastelussa on huomioitu myös talvimerenkulun erityisvaatimukset sekä kustannusvaikutukset rahdinantajille. Raportissa tarkastellaan myös käytettävissä olevia ja tulevia teknisiä ja operatiivisia toimenpiteitä alusten kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vähentämiseksi. Kustannustehokkailla keinoilla saavutettavien päästövähennysten potentiaali merenkulussa on rajoitettu, ja vaihtoehtoisten polttoaineiden käyttöönoton kustannukset ovat toistaiseksi korkeat. Jos EU:n tai IMOn päästökauppajärjestelmä ulotettaisiin meriliikenteeseen, se voisi mekanismin tyypistä ja päästöoikeuksien kustannustasosta riippuen luoda merkittävät maailmanlaajuiset markkinat teknologioille, joilla hillitään alusten päästöjä. Maat, joissa on tällaista edistynyttä tekniikkaa kehittäviä yrityksiä, hyötyisivät tästä. Samalla merenkulun päästöjen vähentäminen alueellisella päästökaupalla on haastavaa. Liitteissä on lisäksi runsaasti tietoa maailmanlaajuisen ja suomalaisen kauppalaivaston päästöistä ja koostumuksesta