The marine industry is witnessing a huge growth in terms of new technologies and ideas spurring up from various parts of the world. On one end, fuel consumption reduction remains the prime scope of research whereas on the other end researchers are confident that alternative energy/renewable resources are the way to move forward.
One such attempt is made and in deed it has been proven successful by a team of researchers headed by Mr. Jerry ng, the CEO of Singapore-headquartered Blue Ocean Solutions.
“We are now beyond proof of concept. We now have proven performance. Our numbers have been validated by class societies and independent verifiers and our method has been verified by engine manufacturers such as Wärtsilä,” said Jerry Ng, founder and chief executive of Blue Ocean Solutions. The system offers fuel savings of at least 2 per cent.
The solution is beneficial as it substantially reduces particulate matter, according to Dr Ng. The presence of steam in the emulsifier softens the soot, resulting in cleaner, white smoke. “This is something that is especially important for cruise liners. It is very damaging to their image to have black smoke.” He believes that in the future there will be regulations restricting particulate emissions. There is a bigger drive in the industry to get rid of this substance, with particularly strict rules in Alaska.
While MFAME has just published a news where the emission from a cruise ship is worser than 376 million cars – this news where emulsified fuel could bring down the emissions as well as the fuel consumption would be a boon to the industry.
The emulsifier can also play a part in the reduction of NOx. It reduces NOx by 20 per cent, and although this is not enough to meet the stricter emissions requirements that are coming in next year, it can complement selective catalytic reduction (SCR). “The maintenance costs of SCR are very expensive. If you have reduced NOx by 20 per cent, there is less demand on the SCR, which means that the maintenance costs of the SCR are also reduced.”
Source: Blue Ocean Solutions
Reference: Marine propulsion
One can adopt to any kind of new technology to save fuel or reduce emissions. With the IMO making the fuel consumption reporting mandatory, not much time would be required to mandate other emission restrictions. With this view, Viswa Lab is proud that they have come out with a simple data augmentation tool which is ready both commercially and technically. The system (VEEMS – Viswa Energy Efficiency Management System) has been successfully installed on board many ships with great success in meeting the regulatory, operational, and managerial needs of a company.
Any fuel saving or emission reduction technology when inducted into your ship’s system, there is always a great need to prove the new technology’s efficiency. Thus with a data augmentation tool like VEEMS, the success is not quantified.
Please feel free to get in touch – to know more about VEEMS – experts@mfame.guru
