Published development or research report or study (D4)

Black carbon measurement in the Artic – is there business potential? Final Report of the Work Package 3 in the Sea Effects Black Carbon Project




List of AuthorsOlli-Pekka Brunila, Katariina Ala-Rämi, Tommi Inkinen, Esa Hämäläinen

PublisherTurun yliopisto

Publication year2017

Title of seriesA

Number in series73

eISBN978–951–29–6983–8

ISSN2342–1401

URLhttp://mkkdok.utu.fi/pub/A73-black_carbon_measurement.pdf

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/26891304


Abstract


Maritime transport is vital for global business but vulnerable in terms
of competitiveness and environmental issues, especially in the Arctic regions.
Global warming is proceeding twice as fast in the Polar Regions as in other
parts of the world, resulting in a reduction of ice. Therefore, the Arctic sea
route is more navigable, allowing an increasing number of ships in the route.
Different diesel fuels and BC have a direct impact on climate change and the
lowering of arctic ice coverage. In this study, we explore whether measuring
black carbon (BC) opens up new business opportunities and designs for an
integrated solution.



Fossil fuels are mainly used in sea transport, and emissions such as CO2,
SO2, PM, NOx and BC originate mostly from vessel
combustion engines. BC is the most important factor in climate change after CO2,
and even though its share of international maritime transport is relatively
small in terms of total BC emissions (estimations vary between 1 and 2%), the
Arctic regions are sensitive to a climate forcer such as BC. If transport
continues to increase as estimated, concerns about BC emissions will grow.



The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the main body
responsible for regulating international shipping emissions. The impact of BC
in the Arctic regions was first addressed a few years ago by IMO. There is
still only limited data available on BC emissions from ships and a limited
amount of relative BC mass measurements before and after exhaust treatments.
The majority of the previous BC research focused on diesel engines used in road
transport.



There are different ways to mitigate BC emissions from ships. The
techniques focus on fuel efficiency, slow steaming, exhaust treatments, fuel
quality, alternative fuels and different exhaust treatments. The potential of
creating business opportunities among these techniques is difficult to estimate
before the corresponding regulations are implemented.


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Last updated on 2022-07-04 at 16:33