Development and Test of a Full Scale Integrated Abatement System for the Treatment of Ship Air Emissions

This paper deals with an integrated system for ship exhaust gas emission treatment, aimed at addressing those pollutants which are the main object of international regulations, i.e. nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM). A full-scale prototype combining catalytic oxidation and water scrubbing techniques has been realized, using seawater as wash-water, without any chemical additive added. An extensive land-based experimental campaign has been carried out in order to determine system performance, especially in terms of pollutant abatement efficiency. Main test results are presented and indicate a high SOx and PM abatement, as well as significant, even if lower, NOx removal. Furthermore, the characteristics of the system make it suitable to be installed onboard and fully compatible with the ship environment. The present study has been developed in a research project, called ECOMOS, co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research.