Question

Describe how emissions standards from regulatory bodies are driving technology changes in the marine diesel engine marketplace. What technologies are emerging? What design and operational considerations do ship designers and ship owners need to think through for new vessels when selecting a marine diesel solution?

Answer 1

The emission standards from regulatory bodies are clearly driving the changes in marine engine marketplace.

What are these standards ?

i)Standards regarding the concentration of sulfur in the marine fuel , i.e. the concentration of sulfur inside fuel should be less than standard limit set.

ii) Standards regarding the emission of Nitrogen oxides(NO_x) from engine exhaust , i.e. the emission of NO_x is made to reduce by 80%.

Earlier the engines are built with a simple structure so that it could be easy to repair for crew members. The mechanical gas exhaust control structure uses a camshaft to control the amount and timing of fuel injection and gas exhaust . But using this simple and conventional technology it was not possible to meet the standards set up by regulatory bodies.

So, To meet the regulations a new generation of engines called intelligent engine are emerging.

Intelligent engines consist of a central electronic system which keeps all parameters within limits and keeping efficiency of engine to be high.

To deal with emission norms system is provided with catalytic cleanup and fuel control and consumption modes.

The mechanical camshaft exhaust system is replaced by computer controlled system. Thus standard norms can be met  properly.

Design and operational considerations to look for :

1.The engine design should be changed from mechanical oriented to electronic oriented, thus producing something called intelligent engines.

2. Implementation of computer controlled systems which are easy to control should be considered . This would reduce the operational cost of engine by large extent.

3. To meet the emission norms catalytic controller and fuel control and consumption modes should be provided in the control system.

Hope this  would be helpful to you..