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 emissions of NOx, sulphur oxide (SOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter are heavily reduced. At the same time, the engine manufacturer says: “LNG fuel is often found to be more competitively priced than conventional liquid fuels, thus enabling ship owners and operators to achieve important operational cost savings.”
However LNG is not without its drawbacks. IBIA’s Convention, to held in Barcelona on 2-4 November, includes two presentations on LNG. Martin Crawford-Brunt, Classification Manager, Det Norske Veritas will answer the question:”As crude prices go up and environmental pressures dictate the move to cleaner fuels – is LNG the solution to the emissions problem?”. Meanwhile CBPJ van den Beemt of TNO Research Organisation, The Netherlands, will look at “the real implications for the bunker industry to successfully move to LNG fuelled ships”.
The tests with the RTX5 engine will continue during the autumn and winter and into 2012. Wärtsilä says: “More details about the engine technology and its performance will be announced upon completion of the programme.”
Source: World Bunkering
