In-use gaseous and particulate matter emissions from a modern ocean going container vessel

Ocean going vessels are one of the largest uncontrolled sources of pollutants and the emissions data from these sources are scarce. This paper provides the emission measurements of gases, particulate matter (PM), metals, ions, elemental and organic carbon, conducted from the main engine of an ocean going PanaMax class container vessel, at certification cycle and at vessel speed reduction mode, during actual operation at sea. The weighted emission factor (g kW−1 h−1) of PM and NOx were 1.64 and 18.2, respectively, for the main engine operating on a 2.05 wt% sulfur heavy fuel oil (HFO). The NOx emissions at the vessel speed reduction mode (8% of full load) are 30% higher than at 52% engine power, the normal cruise speed. The composition of PM, from main engine is dominated by sulfate and water bound with sulfate (about 80% of total PM) and organic carbon constitutes about 15% of the PM. Sulfur, vanadium and nickel are the significant elements in the exhaust from the engine running on the HFO. At the point of sampling 3.7–5.0% of the fuel sulfur was converted to sulfate.