Abstract
Shipping is the main source of anthropogenic particle emissions in large areas of the globe, influencing climate, air quality, and human health in open seas and coast lines. Here, we determined, by laboratory and on-board measurements of ship engine exhaust, fuel-specific particle number (PN) emissions for different fuels and desulfurization applied in shipping. The emission factors were compared to ship exhaust plume observations and, furthermore, exploited in the assessment of global PN emissions from shipping, utilizing the STEAM ship emission model. The results indicate that most particles in the fresh ship engine exhaust are in ultrafine particle size range. Shipping PN emissions are localized, especially close to coastal lines, but significant emissions also exist on open seas and oceans. The global annual PN produced by marine shipping was 1.2 × 1028 (±0.34 × 1028) particles in 2016, thus being of the same magnitude with total anthropogenic PN emissions in continental areas. The reduction potential of PN from shipping strongly depends on the adopted technology mix, and except wide adoption of natural gas or scrubbers, no significant decrease in global PN is expected if heavy fuel oil is mainly replaced by low sulfur residual fuels. The results imply that shipping remains as a significant source of anthropogenic PN emissions that should be considered in future climate and health impact models.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 129–138 |
Journal | Environmental Science & Technology |
Volume | 55 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 8 Dec 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 5 Jan 2021 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
This study was financially supported by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (projects HERE, grant no. 40330/13; SEA-EFFECTS BC, grant no. 40357/14; and MMEA, CLEEN Oy grant no. 427/10), the European Regional Development Fund/Central Baltic INTERREG IV A Programme (project SNOOP), and the Academy of Finland (Center of Excellence programme, grant no. 307331, and KAMON, grant no. 283034). In addition, HERE and SEA-EFFECTS BC projects were financially supported by Wärtsilä Finland Oy, Dekati Oy, Pegasor Oy, HaminaKotka Satama Oy, VG-Shipping Oy, Spectral Engines Oy, Oiltanking Finland Oy, Kine Robot Solutions Oy, AGCO Power, Dinex Ecocat Oy, and Neste Oyj. N.K. acknowledges funding from Tampere University’s Graduate School, KAUTE Foundation, and Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation. J.A. acknowledges funding from the Gasum Gas Fund.