Potential economic and environmental advantages of liquid petroleum gas as a marine fuel through analysis of registered ships in South Korea

Abstract

Due to the environmental damage caused by pollutants generated from ships, air pollution regulations are increasingly being strengthened and new technologies are being developed for the use of various eco-friendly fuels. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is an attractive eco-friendly fuel that can bridge the transition to commercialized zero-carbon ships. LPG, as an alternative marine propulsion fuel, has advantageous characteristics and market competitiveness, particularly for fishing vessels as well as small and medium-sized domestic vessels. This study quantitatively analyzed the annual fuel consumption costs and reduction in the air pollutants by using LPG fuel in South Korean registered ships that had a high feasibility for conversion to LPG fuel. For all the ships, the annual fuel consumption was reduced by 7.5–10.4% and the fuel cost by 8.8–25.9%. Furthermore, compared to conventional fuels, the most harmful pollutants such as SOx, PM10, and PM2.5 could be removed after converting to LPG fuel, and CO2 emissions could be reduced by 10–14%. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the use of LPG through government policies and price subsidies, particularly for fishing vessels with a high feasibility for conversion to LPG. These efforts should be based on the effectiveness and competitiveness of LPG, which is widely applicable regardless of ship size and can reduce air pollutants like when using liquefied natural gas fuel.