Scrubbers: Closing the loop; Activity 3. Summary; Environmental analysis of marine exhaust gas scrubbers on two Stena Line ships.

This is a summary and a joint analysis of four studies on environmental aspects of the use of exhaust gas SO2 -scrubbers on ships. Based on measurements and analyses of emissions and effluents from scrubber systems on ferries in Stena Line’s fleet we draw conclusions on environmental effects of the installations. The studies are part of the EU-funded project “Scrubbers: Closing the loop”. The use of exhaust gas scrubbers on ships is an alternative to the use of low sulphur fuels from a legal perspective. Both options fulfil existing international standards on sulphur emissions from ships in the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) implemented by the IMO. The environmental effects of a wide spread use of exhaust gas scrubbers are relevant topics for discussion as the limit for sulphur in marine fuel will be reduced globally 2020 and a large increase in the use of scrubbers is likely to follow. Our environmental analyses indicate that the use of a low sulphur fuel oil as marine fuel is favourable compared to the use of heavy fuel oil in combination with an exhaust gas scrubber, from an environmental risk perspective.

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