Propulsion: Is LNG the Future?

The actual move toward using fluid natural gas (LNG) as a sea fuel is continuing to achieve momentum as new environment regulations are enacted as well as bunkering facilities are extended. According to a recent forecast through MEC Intelligence, a market understanding firm that focuses on the actual maritime sector, nearly ten, 000 vessels could be implementing LNG propulsion by 2020 compared to less than 100 these days. Prior to MEC’s forecast, distinction society Det Norske experienced predicted that LNG might become the dominant fuel resource for all merchant ships inside 40 years. The reason for such development is strict emission rules requiring the reduction associated with sulfur oxides (SOx) and also nitrogen oxides (NOx) in order to 0. 1 percent within Emission Control Areas (ECAs) by 2015 and zero. 5 percent globally simply by 2020. The key compliance possibilities for vessel operators tend to be either adoption of new kinds of fuel, such as LNG or even low sulphur marine gasóleo, or by using “scrubber” technologies on existing heavy energy oil (HFO) burning powerplants. LNG, besides becoming less expensive as new sources are usually opened up through fracking, slashes carbon emissions by about 25 %, SOx by almost 100 % and NOx by eighty-five percent. However , other technology are also being explored. Such as the use of liquid hydrogen like a fuel to generate power inside a combined fuel cell along with battery system as well as -panel and automated sail techniques. At the same time a new range of very efficient low-speed two-stroke diesel powered engines is being introduced because more operators take up slower steaming.

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