Abstract
In order to meet stringent fuel sulfur limits, ships are increasingly utilizing new fuels or, alternatively, scrubbers to reduce sulfur emissions from the combustion of sulfur-rich heavy fuel oil. The effects of these methods on particle emissions are important, because particle emissions from shipping traffic are known to have both climatic and health effects. In this study, the effects of lower sulfur level liquid fuels, natural gas (NG), and exhaust scrubbers on particulate mass (PM) and nonvolatile particle number (PN greater than 23 nm) emissions were studied by measurements in laboratory tests and in use. The fuel change to lower sulfur level fuels or to NG and the use of scrubbers significantly decreased the PM emissions. However, this was not directly linked with nonvolatile PN emission reduction, which should be taken into consideration when discussing the health effects of emitted particles. The lowest PM and PN emissions were measured when utilizing NG as fuel, indicating that the use of NG could be one way to comply with up-coming regulations for inland waterway vessels. Low PN levels were associated with low elemental carbon. However, a simultaneously observed methane slip should be taken into consideration when evaluating the climatic impacts of NG-fueled engines.
Highlights
Shipping is a very efficient way of transporting goods, and currently the majority of global trade volume is transported by sea
Compared to containers and cargo vessels, cruise ship routes are generally nearer to coastlines, and these ships may spend more time at anchor or berthing, which can have a significant effect on local air quality
Earlier experiments performed on the same Vasa 4R32 engine used in the current study demonstrated that marine engine particulate mass (PM) emissions depend heavily on fuel quality
Summary
Shipping is a very efficient way of transporting goods, and currently the majority of global trade volume is transported by sea. Significant reductions in emissions of terrestrial vehicle engines have been achieved because of a series of environmental regulations and subsequent implementation of emission control techniques over the years, marine vessel emissions have not been thoroughly addressed. As a result, their relative contribution to air pollution has increased during recent years.[1]. In order to address SOx emissions, a global cap in fuel sulfur content (FSC) of marine fuels has been set at 0.5% m/m by 2020, compared to earlier permitted FSC levels of up to 3.5% m/m. Received: October 2, 2018 Revised: February 12, 2019 Accepted: February 19, 2019 Published: February 19, 2019
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