Emissions to the air
Book chapter, 2016

Seeing the black smoke coming out of the funnel of a manoeuvring ship makes it easy to understand that the ship's propulsion contributes to the emission of air pollutants. However, there is more than meets the eye going up in smoke. A vast majority of ships use fossil fuels, increasing a positive net contribution of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when they are combusted. Because the fuels that are used are often of low quality and possess a high sulphur content, a number of other air pollutants are also emitted. Emissions to the air from ships include greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide), sulphur and nitrogen oxides, with both acidifying and eutrophication effects, and different forms of particles, with impacts on health and climate. However, not all emissions to the atmosphere from ships originate from the combustion of fuels for propulsion and energy production. The handling of crude oil as cargo and compounds used in refrigeration systems cause emissions of volatile organic compounds and ozone-depleting substances. The sources of the most important emissions and relevant regulations are described in this chapter.

Ozone-depleting substances

Particles

Carbon dioxide

CO 2

Greenhouse gases

Marine diesel engines

Sulphur dioxide

Emission formation

GHGs

Nitrogen oxides no x

SO 2

Refrigerants

Author

Kent Salo

Chalmers, Shipping and Marine Technology, Maritime Environmental Sciences

Maria Zetterdahl

Chalmers, Shipping and Marine Technology, Maritime Environmental Sciences

Hannes Johnson

Chalmers, Shipping and Marine Technology, Maritime Environmental Sciences

Erik Svensson

Chalmers, Shipping and Marine Technology, Maritime Environmental Sciences

M. Magnusson

Volvo Group

Cecilia Gabrielii

Chalmers, Shipping and Marine Technology, Maritime Environmental Sciences

Selma Brynolf

Chalmers, Shipping and Marine Technology, Maritime Environmental Sciences

Shipping and the Environment: Improving Environmental Performance in Marine Transportation

169-227
9783662490457 (ISBN)

Subject Categories

Marine Engineering

Environmental Sciences

DOI

10.1007/978-3-662-49045-7_5

ISBN

9783662490457

More information

Latest update

11/15/2018