Overview of Technical and Operational Measures for Emission Reduction in the Marine Sector

With economic and population growth it is expected that the shipping sector will continue to grow even further. The negative environmental and health effects of the seaborne trade, which are caused by emissions of greenhouse gases and harmful pollutants, have to be reduced. The International Maritime Organization introduced several measures to reduce air pollution in the shipping sector, which leads to extensive investigation and development of alternative fuels and other measures which will help to reduce air pollution from ships. In this short overview, based on available literature the most promising alternative fuels and other technical and operational measures with their strengths and shortcomings have been described. Employing hydrogen- and electrical-powered ships can lead shipping industries to achieve the carbon-neutral goal but until the production and transportation of hydrogen and electricity come from 100% renewable resources, fuels with less carbon and pollutants, like methanol, LNG, and biofuels will dominate the market in the transition period. In the transition period, waste heat technologies and other technical and operational measures can significantly reduce fuel consumption and the emission of harmful pollution.