Well-to-wake energy and greenhouse gas analysis of SOX abatement options for the marine industry

This paper investigates the well-to-wake energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of several key SOX abatement options in marine transportation, ranging from the manufacture of low sulfur fuels to equipping the vessel with suitable scrubber solutions. The findings suggest that a scrubber system, used with current heavy fuel oils, has the potential to reduce SOX emissions with lower well-to-wake energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions than switching to production of low sulfur fuels at the refinery. A sensitivity analysis covering a series of system parameters shows that variations in the well-to-tank greenhouse gas emissions intensity and the energy efficiency of the main engine have the highest impacts in terms of well-to-wake emissions.

► Presents a WtW analysis of low-S solutions for ships using a modeling approach. ► Adopts a rigorous allocation method for estimating GHGs of refinery products. ► Studies 4 vessel types and 3 scrubber types including scrubber consumables. ► Covers GHG effect of seawater acidification as a result of scrubber water discharge. ► Conducts an extensive sensitivity analyses for key system parameters.