Danish Maersk Lines Cuts Shipping Emissions 50%

[phantom power]

The vessels cut shipping emissions by up to 50% per container.

Each costs US$190 million. At four-hundred meters long, 59 meters wide and 73 meters high,the Triple E is the worlds largest and most efficient vessel.

The Triple E cuts fuel use by 35%. Several innovations contribute to the efficiency. It is bigger, and slower, and uses propellers with fewer, larger blades.

The increased size alone adds efficiency, reducing the emissions on a per container basis.

Two ‘ultra-long stroke’ engines turn one propeller each (instead of one engine turning two smaller propellers) and each propeller is larger, with fewer (4 instead of 6) and longer blades (9.8 instead of 9.6 meters long) and combined with a sleeker hull design, reduce energy use 4%. (Full details at Green Car Congress)

The top speed will be capped at 23 knots, so that each container shipped uses less CO2, so it travels slower, To power that speed takes just between 65-70 MW – compared to 80 MW for the Emma Maersk. Even though the speed reduction is minor, by just two knots, this reduces emissions 19%.

Waste heat recovery is used to reduce CO2 emissions another 9%. When exhaust gas leaves the engine, it is extremely hot. The Triple E can capture the heat and use it to make steam in an exhaust gas boiler, to supply a turbine to generate electricity.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/03/04/danish-maersk-lines-cuts-shipping-emissions-50/

[WhiteTara]

1. good to know

we use Maersk for our shipping.

[Turbineguy]

2. The speed/fuel consumption formula is

New Fuel Consumption= new speed cubed/old speed cubed X old fuel consumption. This is a rule-of-thumb formula for full displacement hulls.

For the same ship that 2 knot speed reduction amounts to 22%. In addition, the 3E class carries more cargo.

The Emma already had the Sulzer RTA Flex (electronically controlled fuel injection and exhaust valves) engine. http://www.emma-maersk.com/engine/Wartsila_Sulzer_RTA96-C.htm

Here's the engine running at 70 RPM (slowed down to save fuel). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz1f1C39_7g

For how the RTA flex works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3G1Ntwgwp8&playnext=1&list=PL476FD64CE73871C3

More on the 3E Engines: http://articles.maritimepropulsion.com/?tag=/MAN+B%26W+G+series

[madokie]

4. Its just hard to fathom the size of these engines

thanks for the links

[Turbineguy]

5. They are big.

There are ladders in the crankcase. You can walk in the exhaust manifold and look at the valves.

[txlibdem]

3. That's good but powering a ship with Solar is even better

Solar powered container ships:

"Energy from 328 panels is helping to power the ship's thrusters, hydraulics and steering gear, providing about 10 percent of the ship's total electricity usage."
http://inhabitat.com/auriga-leader-cargo-ship-gets-power-from-solar-panels/

"The Hybrid Car Carrier project led by Sanyo, Mitsubishi and shipper Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), aims by 2012 to create a car container ship that relies on solar power for part of its journey.

In order to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, the group is working on a hybrid solar/diesel ship that uses photovoltaic solar panels laid out on deck to generate power during part of its voyage.

That power will be stored in massive lithium-ion batteries capable of pumping out up to 3,000kW/h –- enough to replace the output of the ship's traditional engines, at least while docking in port."
http://bionicbong.com/eco/thinking-green/sanyos-solarpowered-container-ship/

"We'd heard that Nippon Oil and Nippon Yusen were working on a million-dollar solar upgrade for a car freighter called the Auriga Leader back in August, and it looks like things have gone as planned -- the cargo ship launched today from Kobe, Japan. The $1.68m project involved the installation of 328 solar panels, which produce 40 kilowatts of power -- a measly 0.3 percent of the engine power required to move the 656-foot, 60,000-ton ship when fully loaded with 6,400 cars, but enough for seven percent of the juice required for lighting and other systems. That's a slow start, but we'll take what we can get, we suppose..."
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/first-partially-solar-powered-cargo-ship-launches-in-japan/

[Turbineguy]

6. Car carriers are perfect for this

as they have a large, flat deck on top.

[txlibdem]

7. All container ships could be retrofitted with solar

I saw a rendering of a container ship with rigid sails that also had solar panels covering them. Wind power *and* solar at the same time.

Then I started to wonder why they couldn't have folding solar panels that stow away during loading. Then once out of the harbor they unfold to be double or triple the width of the ship.

[FBaggins]

11. Where on earth would you put them?

Have you ever seen a large container ship?

I saw a rendering of a container ship with rigid sails that also had solar panels covering them. Wind power *and* solar at the same time.

I think that the ship you saw was the B9 Energy group's design. It can handle up to 9,000 tons of cargo and really isn't at all comparable to these large container ships (they're to be coastal cargo vessels if any of them are actually produced).

[wtmusic]

8. Important to note that they're only powering the ship's electrical grid

They're 4 orders of magnitude away from being able to push it through the water.

[txlibdem]

9. The link to inhabitat says otherwise

"While other ships have used solar panels before to power small electronics like auxiliary lights, the Auriga Leader is the first craft to direct solar power into the ship's main electrical grid. Energy from 328 panels is helping to power the ship's thrusters, hydraulics and steering gear, providing about 10 percent of the ship's total electricity usage."

http://inhabitat.com/auriga-leader-cargo-ship-gets-power-from-solar-panels

[FBaggins]

10. No... it really doesn't.

"Thrusters" are tiny little toys used for short periods of time when maneuvering in port. They're not talking about main propulsion here.

The solar panels provide 10% of the electricity that the vessel uses while in port. We're talking 40 kw... the tiniest fraction of what it would take to move the ship - while the vessel being discussed in the OP is many times larger than this, and it has almost no deck space for solar panels.

[txlibdem]

12. Every little bit helps, no?

It's better than doing nothing, in my view. Do you have a different view?

[FBaggins]

13. Depends on your standard for "helps"

Sure... dropping half a raisin from your weekly caloric intake is better than not cutting anything at all. But is it worth touting online as big progress in your diet?

[txlibdem]

14. The Sanyo solution provides all the in-port power

Re-quoting from my above post:
"The Hybrid Car Carrier project led by Sanyo, Mitsubishi and shipper Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), aims by 2012 to create a car container ship that relies on solar power for part of its journey.

In order to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, the group is working on a hybrid solar/diesel ship that uses photovoltaic solar panels laid out on deck to generate power during part of its voyage.

That power will be stored in massive lithium-ion batteries capable of pumping out up to 3,000kW/h –- enough to replace the output of the ship's traditional engines, at least while docking in port."
http://bionicbong.com/eco/thinking-green/sanyos-solarpo... /

[FBaggins]

15. If you play games with the numbers... sure it does.

Now we're up to 200 kw worth of solar power (assuming it's a sunny day of course). The difference is that they've connected the panels to batteries so that they can spend the voyage charging the batteries and then drain them in port.

Would that actually replace any need for generated power while in port? Possibly... as long as you were only in port for a few hours at a time (and didn't use electricity for loading/unloading of cargo).

And all we're really talking about at this point is whether you've cut half a raisin from your weekly diet or made it all the way up to an ENTIRE raisin.

It still isn't a very impressive diet.