Evaluation of ship emission intensity and the inaccuracy of exhaust emission estimation model

Abstract

Atmospheric pollution from maritime traffic is rising sharply and has brought great challenges to maritime management. The purpose of the study aims to establish a reliable approach to estimate the number of pollutants emitted by ships. The temporal, spatial and voluminal emission intensity of CO2, NOX, CO, NMVOC, PM2.5 and SO2 are investigated using the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model. Then, the inaccuracy of the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model is evaluated by calculating the emission fluctuations at switch points between different operation modes. The results revealed that ship speed could significantly affect the temporal, spatial and voluminal emission intensities of ships. Compared to temporal and voluminal emission, the intensity of spatial emission increases dramatically when the speed is close to 0. In addition, it was also shown that the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model induces an inaccuracy whenever the ship changes the operation mode. The research results provide guidance to plan the operation and management strategies to reduce pollutants from ships.