Tag: CO2

MHI will provide its conceptual design and green technologies to three grain carriers Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has developed a new bulk carrier which will enable reductions in CO2 emissions by about 25% compared with conventional averaged bulk carriers. As the first commercial application of the new design, MHI will provide its conceptual design and green technologies to three grain carriers to be built for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) of the U.S. MHI's new bulk carrier design adopts the company's proprietary Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS), which reduces frictional resistance between the vessel hull and seawater using air bubbles produced at the vessel bottom, along with high-efficiency hull form and enhanced propulsion system. Sumitomo Corporation of Japan has received the order for the ship construction from ADM, and Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. of Nagasaki was selected to build the ships.Besides the MALS, which uses blowers to create air bubbles under the vessel bottom, the three grain carriers will also feature a newly designed bow shape that will reduce wave-making resistances. For propulsion, the ship adopts a system to effectively convert the main engine power into propulsion power by positioning fins forward of the propellers and placing particular grooves ...

United Nations Committee on Trade and Development meeting in Geneva The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), whose member national shipowners' associations represent more than 80% of the world merchant fleet, has participated at a special UNCTAD (United Nations Committee on Trade and Development) meeting in Geneva (29/30 September) to explore how the world's sea ports should prepare for adaptation to the threat of dangerous climate change.Speaking at the UNCTAD meeting, ICS Director of External Relations, Simon Bennett, advised governments that monies for the adaption of ports to the effects of rising sea levels - and the increased likelihood of storms, flooding and extreme weather events - could be provided by a proposed International Maritime Organization (IMO) environmental compensation fund, with contributions from the shipping industry linked to fuel compensation. An environmental compensation fund is the Market Based Mechanism preferred by the majority of the global shipping industry, rather than the alternative of emissions trading schemes which has also been proposed by some governments in discussions at the IMO."The advantage of a compensation fund linked to ships' fuel consumption is that some of the monies raised could be readily directed by IMO to environmental projects in developing countries, such as the ...

New two-stroke gas engine performance meets impending IMO emission rules Finnish engine designer and manufacturer Wärtsilä Corporation says that tests underway on its new two-stroke gas engine show it complies with the IMO Tier III NOx emission limits. Wartsila says this sets a "new benchmark for low-speed engines running on gas".The trials took place at the company's facilities in Trieste, Italy. The tests were carried out on September 19 in conjunction with Wärtsilä's Licensees Conference in Trieste.The engine concerned, the new RTX5 two-stroke test engine, is part of Wärtsilä's two-stroke dual-fuel gas engine technology development programme. The company says in statement: "This is an important part of the company's strategy to lower emissions, increase efficiency and to develop its low-speed engine portfolio to include dual-fuel gas engines alongside its medium-speed dual-fuel engines."The IMO's Tier III regulations, which will come into force in 2016, require NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions to be cut by 80% compared to the IMO Tier I levels.The use of LNG as a marine fuel is being strongly promoted by some classification societies and other interested parties as the most realistic means of reducing the marine industry's environmental footprint. Wärtsilä notes that, when operating in gas mode, vessel ...

Wärtsilä dual-fuel engine complies with Tier III Finnish engine designer and manufacturer Wärtsilä Corporation says that tests underway on its new two-stroke gas engine show it complies with the IMO Tier III NOx emission limits. Wartsila says this sets a "new benchmark for low-speed engines running on gas".The trials took place at the company's facilities in Trieste, Italy. The tests were carried out on September 19 in conjunction with Wärtsilä's Licensees Conference in Trieste.The engine concerned, the new RTX5 two-stroke test engine, is part of Wärtsilä's two-stroke dual-fuel gas engine technology development programme. The company says in statement: "This is an important part of the company's strategy to lower emissions, increase efficiency and to develop its low-speed engine portfolio to include dual-fuel gas engines alongside its medium-speed dual-fuel engines."The IMO's Tier III regulations, which will come into force in 2016, require NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions to be cut by 80% compared to the IMO Tier I levels.The use of LNG as a marine fuel is being strongly promoted by some classification societies and other interested parties as the most realistic means of reducing the marine industry's environmental footprint. Wärtsilä notes that, when operating in gas mode, vessel emissions of NOx, ...

Emissions have increased by 45 % between 1990 and 2010, Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) -- the main cause of global warming -- increased by 45 % between 1990 and 2010, and reached an all-time high of 33 billion tonnes in 2010. Increased energy efficiency, nuclear energy and the growing contribution of renewable energy are not compensating for the globally increasing demand for power and transport, which is strongest in developing countries.This increase took place despite emission reductions in industrialised countries during the same period. Even though different countries show widely variable emission trends, industrialised countries are likely to meet the collective Kyoto target of a 5.2 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 as a group, partly thanks to large emission reductions from economies in transition in the early nineties and more recent reductions due to the 2008-2009 recession. These figures were published in the report "Long-term trend in global CO2 emissions," prepared by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.The report, which is based on recent results from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) and latest statistics for energy use and other activities, shows large national differences between industrialised ...

University of Southampton-based initiative combined students, faculty and the private sector A collegium funded by the Lloyd's Register Educational Trust (The LRET) has produced four technical papers that the authors hope will spur discussion and further innovation as industry strives to find solutions to the challenges of carbon capture and storage (CCS).A group of 19 young PhD or post-doctoral researchers were brought to the University of Southampton from countries as far afield as China, Australia, Korea and the US to collaborate on finding potential solutions to the technical and socio-political challenges currently slowing the global expansion of CCS activities."There is a growing industry consensus that CCS is part of the solution to global warming. What we also have come to realise is that the challenges facing its development are as much political and social as they are technical, if not more so," said Richard Sadler, Chief Executive Officer, Lloyd's Register. "In sponsoring the collegium, the LRET created an environment where the engineers of the future could begin addressing the socio-technical challenges of today. The results were impressive and, as our mandate is to benefit the public, I can think of no better use for LRET funds."The scholars presented their findings ...

Produced by ICS to explain what the shipping industry is doing to reduce CO2 emissions. ICS has produced a short film Shipping, World Trade and the Reduction of CO2 Emissions to explain what the shipping industry is doing to reduce CO2 emissions. The film can be used with audiences of policy makers, and as a tool at exhibitions and talks.

Looking at ways to cut its growing carbon footprint from shipping activities Glencore, the world's biggest trader of physical commodities, said it is looking at ways it can cut its growing carbon footprint from its shipping activities ahead of any emissions trading scheme for the maritime sector.The Switzerland-headquartered company, which earlier this year floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of 37 billion pounds, said in its first sustainability report it was looking at ways of cutting emissions in key areas of its business."We are also examining the extent to which our shipping activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, in light of a mooted emissions trading scheme for the maritime industry," the company said.The company said it wouldn't go into details on how it would engage with any future carbon trading schemes that would apply to shipping.Meanwhile, a company spokesman said Glencore would not be getting involved in carbon trading in other areas, such as the markets in EU allowances and offset credits generated through the Kyoto protocol."We are a physical commodity trader so those markets aren't of interest to us," he said.Glencore said its operations were responsible for 7.6 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010, up ...

It is clearly in the interest of shipping to minimise its CO2 output The shipping industry remains firmly behind the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the architect of change when it comes to regulating shipping's CO2 emissions,according to Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).While it is clearly in the interest of shipping to minimise its CO2 output by reducing fuel consumption, recently agreed amendments to Annex VI of IMO's MARPOL Convention which - on a global basis - will make the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) mandatory for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) mandatory for existing vessels, were 'absolutely' what had been hoped for by ICS.Addressing delegates attending a special Guest Lecture at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Mr Hinchliffe said: "The EEDI is a non-prescriptive requirement, as the decision over which technologies to use within a specific ship design are left to the industry. So long as the required energy-efficiency level is achieved, naval architects and ship builders may employ whichever solutions they deem fit. The new regulations are also being presented as a vehicle for technical cooperation and the transfer of ...

Wildfires increase in frequency and size along Alaska's North Slope In a study published in this week's issue of Nature, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) senior scientist Gauis Shaver and his colleagues, including lead author Michelle Mack of the University of Florida, describe the dramatic impacts of a massive Arctic wildfire on carbon releases to the atmosphere.The 2007 blaze on the North Slope of the Alaska's Brooks Mountain Range released 20 times more carbon to the atmosphere than what is annually lost from undisturbed tundra.As wildfires increase in frequency and size along Alaska's North Slope, the team contends the disturbances may release large amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2 to the atmosphere and accelerate the transformation of the frozen, treeless tundra of today into a different kind of ecosystem less capable of storing carbon. Together, the impacts could have profound implications on atmospheric carbon and climate.Arctic tundra landscapes store huge amounts of carbon in cool, wet soils that are insulated by a layer of permanently frozen ground, or permafrost. Fire has been almost nonexistent in Alaska's North Slope for thousands of years and the effect of fires on the carbon balance of tundra ecosystems is largely unknown.However, with warming temperatures over ...