LNG as the future marine fuel, Waste Heat Recovery Systems & Cold Ironing solutions for eco-friendly maritime transport

Nowadays a regulatory framework regarding the pollutant emissions abatement, both at international and local level, significantly interests the maritime sector. To comply with the latest environmental rules, a new approach to ship design and a renewed way to operate the ship are need both in navigation and in harbour. This PhD Thesis aims to investigate on the positive features offered by the LNG fuel, more eco-friendly than the traditional marine fuel oils. In the first part of the research, the performance comparison between two marine engines, fuelled by natural gas and diesel oil respectively is reported. Two different simulation codes, one for each engine, validated by means of geometrical and performance data provided by the manufacturer have been developed to extend the comparison to the whole working area of the examined engines. In the second part of the research, a LNG-repowering study of a cruise ferry is presented. The study is enhanced by the investigation on possible Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) systems aiming at the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG), pollution, and money saving. A computational code has been developed to carry out the sizing and to analyse the energetic performance and economical aspects of the several examined WHR layout systems. The more eco-friendly layout for the considered ship is proposed to comply with in force rules. The third part of the PhD Thesis is focused on studying some maritime technical solutions for the electric energy generation and delivery to ships moored in port, by means of LNG fuelled generators installed on board a floating unit. Two different scenarios, regarding the LNG supply chain, are considered and some options for producing cleaner electric energy are then investigated. The reference area examined in this study is the old port of Genoa, where the traffic of both passenger and cargo ships takes place. The analysis is carried out by means of a MATLAB numerical code to calculate the most important features of the floating unit, as dimensions and weights and the most significant characteristics of the electric generation equipment, as the average load factor, fuel consumption and energy cost. From an economical point of view, the externalities costs abatement, thanks to the technical solution proposed are investigated. The study also focuses on the estimation of governmental incentives to promote and sustain the use of the proposed power supply barge, resulting into a fully positive technical solution.