Abstract
Decarbonization of ship power plants and reduction of harmful emissions has become a priority in the technological development of maritime transport, including ships operating in seaports. Engines fueled by diesel without using secondary emission reduction technologies cannot meet MARPOL 73/78 Tier III regulations. The MEPC.203 (62) EEDI directive of the IMO also stipulates a standard for CO2 emissions. This study presents the results of research on ecological parameters when a CAT 3516C diesel engine is replaced by a dual-fuel (diesel-liquefied natural gas) powered Wartsila 9L20DF engine on an existing seaport tugboat. CO2, SO2 and NOx emission reductions were estimated using data from the actual engine load cycle, the fuel consumption of the KLASCO-3 tugboat, and engine-prototype experimental data. Emission analysis was performed to verify the efficiency of the dual-fuel engine in reducing CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions of seaport tugboats. The study found that replacing a diesel engine with a dual-fuel-powered engine led to a reduction in annual emissions of 10% for CO2, 91% for SO2, and 65% for NOx. Based on today’s fuel price market data an economic impact assessment was conducted based on the estimated annual fuel consumption of the existing KLASCO-3 seaport tugboat when a diesel-powered engine is replaced by a dual-fuel (diesel-natural gas)-powered engine. The study showed that a 33% fuel costs savings can be achieved each year. Based on the approved methodology, an ecological impact assessment was conducted for the entire fleet of tugboats operating in the Baltic Sea ports if the fuel type was changed from diesel to natural gas. The results of the assessment showed that replacing diesel fuel with natural gas achieved 78% environmental impact in terms of NOx emissions according to MARPOL 73/78 Tier III regulations. The research concludes that new-generation engines on the market powered by environmentally friendly fuels such as LNG can modernise a large number of existing seaport tugboats, significantly reducing their emissions in ECA regions such as the Baltic Sea.
Highlights
Modern environmental standards in transport have brought about technologies that reduce emissions of toxic components and greenhouse gases such as CO2 and increase the energy efficiency indicators of power plants
The data for KLASCO-3 was captured by the engine control unit (ECU) of the engine; the data for the Wartsila engine was taken from the seaport tugboat statistics
The results show that the annual CO2 emissions are reduced from 474,300 kg/year to 424,800 kg/year when CAT 3516C is replaced by Wartsila 9L20DF, a reduction of approximately 10%
Summary
Modern environmental standards in transport have brought about technologies that reduce emissions of toxic components and greenhouse gases such as CO2 and increase the energy efficiency indicators of power plants. The future environmental impact of ships will increase due to an increase in global fleet size and the associated consumption of almost exclusively fossil fuels (90–95%). In this regard, along with the existing restrictions on emissions of the most toxic components, NOx and SO2, the IMO adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI (Resolution MEPC.203 (62)) that introduced the CO2 emission limitation indicator known as the energy efficiency design index [1]. Reduction rates have been established for 2025 and onwards, when a 30% reduction is mandated for applicable ship types from a reference line representing the average efficiency of ships built between 2000 and 2010 [2]
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