Page 16: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1996)

GL-Led Exhaust Consortium Facos Engine Development Challenges

The reduction of fuel consump-tion and the improvement of reliability is a major focus of engine development, which involves studying methods of reducing carbon dioxide engine emissions. However, international regulations that limit pollutant emissions — particularly nitrogen oxides — are beginning to influ- ence the design of engines. Diesel development will now increasingly focus on reducing pollutants. And, diesel engine manfacturers will only be able to retain market- shares if innovative, emission-con- trolling technologies are devel- oped, and speedily transformed into products ready for the mar- itime market. As presented in

MR/EN'S May 1996 issue,

Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has assumed overall project manage- ment of a three-year, industry wide research program — known as

CLEAN, or Clean and Low soot

Engine with Advanced techniques for NOx reduction — in an effort to reduce marine diesel exhaust gas omissions. Thirteen leading

German diesel manufacturers, universities and research institu- tions are involved in the project, which will explore ways to improve the competitiveness of engines in the future by increasing efficiency and ensuring environmental com- pliance. As the foundation for future engine and catalytic-reactor designs in the CLEAN project, the- oretical and experimental basis research, developments on a lab and test-bench scale, as well as test series on engine test beds are being conducted, with a distribu- tion of tasks among the project partners. At a later stage, inves- tigative sea trials on a ferry ship will be executed in order to deter- mine if and under what conditions electronically-controlled inj ection systems and catalytic reactors can be implemented for after-treat- ment of exhaust gas during normal operations at sea. The combina- tion of designing engines that emit less nitrogen oxides, and improv- ing after-treatment technology of exhaust gas should result in a sig- nificant reduction in exhaust lev- els.

The combination of designing engines that emit less nitrogen oxides, and improving after-treatment technology of exhaust gas should result in a signifi- cant reduction in exhaust levels. 18 Circle 262 on Reader Service Card

It has been estimated by GL that about 98 percent of ships in the world fleet are equipped with diesel engines as their main means of propulsion, and the joint project is therefore centering its concen- tration on the propulsion plant.

Research is being based on the idea that fuel quality and motor- internal measures influence the combustion process and therefore the emissions. One major chal- lenge of the project will be to over- come the "diesel dilemma," or the counteractive relationship between optimization of the design for fuel comsumption and for NOx. A pos- sible solution may lie in the use of

SCR exhaust-gas scrubbers and/or particle/soot separators — a con- cept which will be examined dur- ing the scope of CLEAN. By the end of this decade at the very lat- est, the emission limits of marine diesels will have become a decisive criterion in competition, and will enjoy priority over optimum effi- ciencies. It is also clear that sea transport must be included in the efforts to counteract environmen- tal pollution, as mandated by

IMO's MARPOL and SOLAS

Conventions.

For more information on the

CLEAN consortium

Circle 108 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News

THE RIGHT FIT.

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.

Penetration seals with MultiDiameter technology.

P.O. BOX 35493 • TULSA, OK 74153-0493 • 918-252-0481 • FAX 918-254-2544

ROXSYSTEM

Nothing gets by Rox System cable transit seals. Not fire, smoke, gas, chemicals, water...nothing.

Rox System MultiDiameter seals are made from a UL- tested, fire-resistant elastomer, then com-pression sealed in a rust-resistant metal casing for an airtight fit. It's the cable sealing system trusted by offshore and marine industry leaders worldwide.

Best of all, Rox System's peel-away module sizes fit virtually every cable instantly for incredibly fast installation with future flexibility.

Choose the system proven to keep your investment safe, come what may. Call 1-800-520-4R0X.