A UK engineering firm is to examine fitting large ships with carbon capture and storage technology to curb emissions.
Software and consultancy company Process Systems Enterprise is to use computer modelling and simulations to show how different carbon capture and storage systems would work on ships during a 2?-year research project.
The £300,000 Maritime CCS project will develop a series of designs for capturing and storing carbon and other pollutants emitted from the large diesel engines on ships and select the best one.
The technology will be adopted from similar systems being developed for power stations, such as anime scrubbers.
Mark Matzopoulos, chief operating officer of Process Systems Enterprise, said: “The idea is that the flue gas goes through a mini process plant on board the ship, which removes the carbon and other impurities. It is then stored in tanks and offloaded when the ship docks.
“It is an unknown area. These plants are huge on land, and there is very limited space on a ship. The maritime environment is also challenging – it goes from hot to cold quickly and the movement causes things to swish about.”
Shipping emissions from vessels such as container ships are estimated to contribute 3-5% of total global CO2 emissions. The shipping sector has yet to be incorporated into any schemes to reduce emissions.
Adjusting or adding extra plant has been resisted by ship owners, who are reluctant to pass on the extra cost to customers.
However, said Matzop-oulos, there is a strong possibility future European legislation would restrict shipping emissions, and that many ships would have to be retrofitted with CCS technology.
The Maritime CCS project is being run as part of a European collaborative research programme, Eurostars, and is being part-funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board. Large diesel engine manufacturers including Rolls-Royce and MAN have considered joining the project.
Process Systems Enterprise is a spin-out business from Imperial College London that models and simulates materials flow in process equipment and plant.
© PE Publishing, 9 September 2009
