Trio of shipboard carbon capture technologies readied for launch

Shipowners looking to retrofit onboard carbon capture technology to reduce their CO2 emissions will have a choice of three different types of systems from Italian environmental engineering company Ecospray, which plans to commercialise the units over the next two years.

Speaking at the recent Maritime Decarbonisation, Europe Conference, Awards & Exhibition, Ecospray marine business unit director, Filippo Lossani, said two systems based on chemical absorption technology have been jointly researched with academia, scaled and tested in its lab and piloted onboard a commercial ship.

A leader in the development of exhaust gas cleaning systems and part of cruise shipping giant Carnival Corp, Ecospray has developed carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies using amines, lime milk (calcium hydroxide) and molten carbonate fuel cells.

While amine-based chemical absorption technology has been used in industrial land-based carbon capture applications for decades, Mr Lossani says R&D has now focussed on redesigning components and rethinking the processes for the marine environment, as well as for the confined spaces and energy efficiency requirements of a ship.

A study conducted in collaboration with the University of Genoa examined two potential configurations for CO2 storage and, with the help of simulation software, demonstrated the potential deployment of a molten carbonate fuel-cell (MCFC) technology on existing passenger ships, including storing liquefied CO2 onboard. MCFCs can produce electricity and capture CO2 emitted by the ship’s engines.

A study conducted in collaboration with the University of Turin examined the possibility of amine regeneration in low-pressure and low-temperature conditions.

“Ecospray’s amine-based CCS was 10 to 15% more energy efficient than a conventional amine process”

During his presentation at the conference, held in Amsterdam in September, Mr Lossani said a pilot plant at Ecospray’s facility was used to understand CO2 capturing limits and define the best operating conditions.

He reported that during tests the pilot plant using amine technology was able to absorb from 5 kg/h (on 9.9 kg/h CO2 in exhaust gas from the engine) to 8.7 kg/h (on 19.5 kg/h of CO2 in the exhaust gas from the engine) of carbon dioxide. Tests showed an average carbon capture rate was 48%, according to Mr Lossani.

He said the pilot plant demonstrated the feasibility of low-temperature and low-pressure regeneration of the selected amine mixture.

He detailed the results of a case study deployment on a 63,500-dwt bulk carrier, which suggested that Ecospray’s amine-based CCS was 10 to 15% more energy efficient than a conventional amine process, with a 25% carbon capture rate. In a standard amine capture process, 174.3 kg of fuel was used to capture one ton of CO2, compared to 152.9 kg of fuel with the Ecospray CCS system.

Mr Lossani said Ecospray’s chemical absorption-based systems are further along in development, allowing it to target commercial deployment in Q1 2024, while its MCFC technology will be ready in 2025.