Science a step closer to biofuel for ships

I found this report on the Maersk website about Bio fuels.
Quite an interesting read.

Science a step closer to biofuel for ships

Slowly but surely, science seems to be advancing toward a production of biofuel that does not take away agricultural land from the world’s food supply. When this kind of fuel is ready, so is A.P. Moller - Maersk.

Five Maersk business units are already carrying out tests on a large container vessel with the ultimate aim of cutting CO2 emissions and diversifying the fuel supply. It is currently being tested how the fuel tanks and engines of Maersk Kalmar react to biodiesel, and this puts the Group at the forefront of the industry. The test is made with biodiesel based on crops grown in temperate regions, or reused oils. In the first go, the scope is a fuel blend with 5-7 % biodiesel.

The partners in the Biodiesel Project are Maersk Line, Maersk Tankers, Maersk Supply Service, Maersk Drilling, Maersk Ship Management, Lloyd’s Register – Strategic Research Group, and a consortium of Dutch subcontractors. The project is supported by the Dutch government.

Action could be relevant sooner than expected. Recently, several biotech companies have reported positive leaps in the creation of enzymes, which act as catalysts when biomass, such as agricultural waste, is converted into fuel. Jacob Sterling of the Maersk Line sustainability team considers the reports encouraging.

“It’s good news. Maersk Line will probably never sail on bioethanol, but lignin is a residual from producing bioethanol, and this may be a real option for us. Lignin is essentially a precursor for oil and coal, so it is very similar to the fuel we are using today - just with far less sulphur and CO2 emissions,” he says. Taking the lead on biofuel could be a strategic investment, according to Lasse Kragh Andersen senior specialist at Maersk Maritime Technology.

"At Maersk Maritime Technology we see the development of the technology behind shipping and biofuel as a big and exciting business opportunity," Andersen says. Biofuel is one way to diversify the fuel supply as fossil fuels are likely to become scarcer and more expensive in the decades to come.

“To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to test biodiesel in a large container vessel. We want to be ready when sustainable biofuels become available in large volumes,” says Sterling.

There are caveats, though.

”It is crucial that future biofuels for shipping are sustainable – their CO2 emissions must be far less than conventional fuels, and the production should be based on biomass that can be produced without negative impacts on food production and biodiversity,” Sterling says.

Maersk Line used more than 9 mill. tonnes of bunker fuel in 2009. Maersk Line has set a voluntary target to reduce CO2 emissions from its container vessels by 20 % per container moved in the period 2007-2017. Biofuel is expected to be part of the solution.

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Can Slow Steaming Save You Money?

Can Slow Steaming Save You Money?

Slow Steaming, Fuel Efficiency and the Environment

As fuel makes up a large part of a ship’s operating costs, many Ship owners are seeking ways of delivering fuel savings and often approach Martek Marineregarding how using our MariNOx™ engine emissions monitoring system can assist them in this process.


Within the document is a section concerning MARPOL Annex VI and the consequences of engine modifications which has a direct relevance for the MariNOx™engine emissions monitoring system:

“Inevitably, virtually any modification to a diesel engine’s component parts or settings, in order to meet the changed load requirements resulting fromslow steaming, will also affect the composition of the exhaust emissions and hence possibly its MARPOL Annex VI NOx compliance status…adopting the Direct
Measurement and Monitoring (DMM) method as an alternative Onboard NOx Verification Procedure for showing compliance, with the applicableengine speed related NOx limit, could be a viable option in some instances since, provided it can be shown that that value is complied with, there isno requirement to pre-approve either individual or combinations of modifications…components such as modified fuel injector nozzles and turbochargerparts or altered fuel pump timing settings can be readily introduced as required in order to meet current trading circumstances.”

We have made the whole document available for you to download as it contains a lot of information, not just about ship emissions monitoring,that we think will be of interest to you.

website

Most Powerful Engine in the World!

The Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine is the most powerful and most efficient prime-mover in the world today.  The Aioi Works of Japan's Diesel United, Ltd built the first engines and is where some of these pictures were taken.
     It is available in 6 through 14 cylinder versions, all are inline engines.  These engines were designed primarily for very large container ships.  Ship owners like a single engine/single propeller design and the new generation of larger container ships needed a bigger engine to propel them.
     The cylinder bore is just under 38" and the stroke is just over 98".  Each cylinder displaces 111,143 cubic inches (1820 liters) and produces 7780 horsepower.  Total displacement comes out to 1,556,002 cubic inches (25,480 liters) for the fourteen cylinder version.

Some facts on the 14 cylinder version:
	Total engine weight:	2300 tons  (The crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons.)
	Length:	89 feet
	Height:	44 feet
	Maximum power:	108,920 hp at 102 rpm
	Maximum torque:	5,608,312 lb/ft at 102rpm

     Fuel consumption at maximum power is 0.278 lbs per hp per hour (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption).  Fuel consumption at maximum economy is 0.260 lbs/hp/hour.  At maximum economy the engine exceeds 50% thermal efficiency.  That is, more than 50% of the energy in the fuel in converted to motion.
     For comparison, most automotive and small aircraft engines have BSFC figures in the 0.40-0.60 lbs/hp/hr range and 25-30% thermal efficiency range.
     Even at its most efficient power setting, the big 14 consumes 1,660 gallons of heavy fuel oil per hour.

A cross section of the RTA96C:

 

    The internals of this engine are a bit different than most automotive engines.
    The top of the connecting rod is not attached directly to the piston.  The top of the connecting rod attaches to a "crosshead" which rides in guide channels.  A long piston rod then connects the crosshead to the piston.
    I assume this is done so the the sideways forces produced by the connecting rod are absorbed by the crosshead and not by the piston.  Those sideways forces are what makes the cylinders in an auto engine get oval-shaped over time.

The crank sitting in the block (also known as a "gondola-style" bedplate).  This is a 10 cylinder version.

Note the steps by each crank throw that lead down into the crankcase:

 

German ship faces leak inquiry

THE Shanghai maritime authority is investigating a German container ship suspected of being involved in a chemical leak. Maersk Seville is the first foreign ship arriving in Shanghai to face inquiries for allegedly violating newly enacted national regulationson the prevention and control of marine pollution.

Maritime officials said yesterday the ship, now anchored in Yangshan Deep-Water Port, might not be able to leave today as scheduled becausefurther checks were needed. However, so far no environmental damage had been detected, they said.

The ship was built in 2006 and its last known port was north China's Tianjin.

The report of a possible spill on the ship to authorities was delayed for nearly a day. Maritime law enforcement officers first boarded at9:20pm on Saturday soon after port staff reported there was a pungent odor coming from the vessel that had anchored at 3:30pm.While the ship carried two containers registered as carrying dangerous goods, they were not the source of the offensive smell, officials said.

"It was the container next to the dangerous goods that was the source of the smell," said Huang Yongchang, a spokesman for the Yangshanmarine safety team. The goods in the suspect container were registered as "general cargo." According to the investigation, the ship firstdetected the leak about 11pm on Friday but the ship's local agency did not inform maritime officials until 9:43pm the next day.

Authorities said if the ship reported the leak immediately, it would have been halted from docking. Under new maritime laws, vesselsor their local agencies must not delay or conceal reports of leakage or spillage. Offenders face fines of up to 250,000 yuan (US$36,625).Ships and vessels arriving at Chinese mainland ports face tougher fines and more stringent inspections after the rules became effective on March 1.
Maritime supervisors have more powers under the laws, including authorization to open containers they deem to be contamination threats.

Fast or Slow Steaming?

It is a mark of how the world has turned on its head that the hare is in danger of being ridiculed by the tortoise.
In little more than a year, slow steaming has become a cornerstone in shipping’s recovery. The logic seems unassailable:
it soaks up extra capacity and saves enormous amounts of fuel, providing a useful counterweight to bunker prices
that are once again heading north.

Additionally, as has been previously noted in these pages, slow-steaming also provides shipowners an unexpected
green card; the industry’s CO2 emissions collectively decline, it looks as if they are doing their bit to save
the planet. Bizarrely, the shipping industry is acting as one.

Meanwhile, the exact position of shippers is unclear precisely because one doesn’t exist. They too get to wave
the green card, but social responsibility remains secondary to survival and plenty of shippers are suffering as
much as the carriers.

Slow-steaming entails higher costs. Inventory that spends a week longer at sea is effectively cash thrown overboard,
although that was mitigated in the early days of slow steaming as slower services came with a reduced freight rate.
Not any more, rates are up and transit times longer than ever – if containers were passengers there’d be an outcry.

Some shippers will take it on the chin; others will turn the screw on their logistics providers to claw back the
time lost at sea; and some might even return to air freight.

Into this confusion steps the prospect of faster services returning to the seas. It is far too early to make a
judgement on the possible success of Horizon Line’s fast US west coast-China service, due to launch in December,
but shippers will welcome another alternative.

Maritime-connector.com

Wärtsilä Powers Polar Supply & Research Vessel

Photo courtesy Wärtsilä Corporation

Wärtsilä has signed a contract with the STX Finland Oy shipyard in Rauma, Finland, to deliver four Wärtsilä 32 engines for a Polar Supply and Research Vessel. The owner of the vessel will be the Republic of South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs, and it will be operated by SMIT Amandla Marine, of South Africa. The vessel's crew will be trained at the Wärtsilä Land and Sea Academy in Turku, Finland.

"This vessel order is one of the biggest single trade agreements ever between Finnish industry and South Africa, and we hope it will lead to additional business. We believe that by providing reliable technology and the highest levels of quality and service, we will benefit also in the future," said Mr Timo Suistio, Director, Rauma shipyard of STX Finland Oy.

The ice-strengthened vessel will be powered by four 6-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 32 engines. It will be approximately 440 ft long and will have accommodation for 45 crew and about 100 researchers and passengers. Construction of the vessel began in January 2010 and will be launched in March 2012. Wärtsilä's engine deliveries are scheduled to take place in February 2011.

The vessel is being built for research activities and expeditions, but since it will be used to carry equipment and scientists working on the South African National Antarctic Program, it will also have ice-breaking capabilities. Expeditions will take place during the Antarctic summer, starting at the end of December and continuing until the beginning of March. During the remainder of the year, it will serve as a supply vessel for three research centers located on Antarctic islands.

As a mobile research facility, the new vessel will be equipped with a laboratory so that scientists can conduct marine research while on board. Weather data for meteorological institutes around the world will also be collected. Classified as a passenger ship, the new vessel will feature some of the facilities found on cruise ships, including comfortable passenger accommodation, a gym, a library and a small hospital. It will also have a shelter and landing area for two Puma class helicopters.

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Mammoth iceberg 'could alter ocean circulation'

An iceberg the size of Luxembourg knocked loose from the Antarctic continent earlier this month could disrupt the ocean currents driving weather patterns around the globe, researchers said. Skip related content

Related photos / videos

The Mertz Glacier, a 160-kilometer spit of floating ice protruding from East Antarctica Enlarge photo

• The Mertz Glacier, a 160-kilometer spit of floating ice protruding from East Antarctica Enlarge photo
• VIDEO: Mammoth iceberg could alter ocean circulation. Enlarge photo

While the impact would not be felt for decades or longer, a slowdown in the production of colder, dense water could result in less temperate winters in the north Atlantic, they said Thursday.

The 2,550 square-kilometre (985 square-mile) block broke off on February 12 or 13 from the Mertz Glacier Tongue, a 160-kilometer spit of floating ice protruding into the Southern Ocean from East Antarctica due south of Melbourne, researchers said.
Some 400 metres (1,300 feet) thick, the iceberg could fill Sydney Harbour more than 100 times over.
It could also disturb the area's exceptionally rich biodiversity, including a major colony of emperor penguins near Dumont d'Urville, site of a French scientific station, according to the scientists.
"The ice tongue was almost broken already. It was hanging like a loose tooth," said Benoit Legresy, a French glaciologist who has been monitoring the Metz Glacier via satellite images and on the ground for a decade in cooperation with Australian scientists.
The billion-tonne mass, 78 kilometres long and half-again as wide, was dislodged by another, older iceberg, known as B9B, which split off in 1987.
Jammed against the Antarctic continent for more than 20 years, B9B smashed into the Metz tongue like a slow-motion battering ram after it began to drift.
Both natural cycles and man-made climate change contribute to the collapse of ice shelves and glaciers.

Yahoo news. 

White Paper on Maritime Environmental Issues in Ireland.

Interesting Paper from Ireland on Maritime Environmental issues.

Current priorities for Marine Environment and Food Safety research in Ireland are as set out in SeaChange – a marine knowledge, research and innovation strategy for Ireland 2007-2013. These are broadly based on requirements that arise from European legislation and the opportunities that arise for Irish Marine sector as a consequence. As a productive and sustainable marine based food sector depends on waters with a high environmental status there is a close relationship between Marine Environment research topics and programmes and the development of Seafood Production, Aquaculture, Seafood Safety. Furthermore, changes and variations in the Marine Environment have a significant effect on agriculture production through impact on weather conditions.

Click link below for full Paper.

Current Environmental Issues in the Marine Sector