Investigation of Applying Technical Measures for Improving Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for KCS and KVLCC2

Abstract

While extensive research is being conducted to reduce greenhouse gases in industrial fields, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has implemented regulations to actively reduce CO2 emissions from ships, such as energy efficiency design index (EEDI), energy efficiency existing ship index (EEXI), energy efficiency operational indicator (EEOI), and carbon intensity indicator (CII). These regulations play an important role for the design and operation of ships. However, the calculation of the index and indicator might be complex depending on the types and size of the ship. Here, to calculate the EEDI of two target vessels, first, the ships were set as Deadweight (DWT) 50K container and 300K very large crude-oil carrier (VLCC) considering the type and size of those ships along with the engine types and power. Equations and parameters from the marine pollution treaty (MARPOL) Annex VI, IMO marine environment protection committee (MEPC) resolution were used to estimate the EEDI and their changes. Technical measures were subsequently applied to satisfy the IMO regulations, such as reducing speed, energy saving devices (ESD), and onboard CO2 capture system. Process simulation model using Aspen Plus v10 was developed for the onboard CO2 capture system. The obtained results suggested that the fuel change from Marine diesel oil (MDO) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) was the most effective way to reduce EEDI, considering the limited supply of the alternative clean fuels. Decreasing ship speed was the next effective option to meet the regulation until Phase 4. In case of container, the attained EEDI while converting fuel from Diesel oil (DO) to LNG was reduced by 27.35%. With speed reduction, the EEDI was improved by 21.76% of the EEDI based on DO. Pertaining to VLCC, 27.31% and 22.10% improvements were observed, which were comparable to those for the container. However, for both vessels, additional measure is required to meet Phase 5, demanding the reduction of 70%. Therefore, onboard CO2 capture system was designed for both KCS (Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) container ship) and KVLCC2 (KRISO VLCC) to meet the Phase 5 standard in the process simulation. The absorber column was designed with a diameter of 1.2–3.5 m and height of 11.3 m. The stripper column was 0.6–1.5 m in diameter and 8.8–9.6 m in height. The obtained results suggested that a combination of ESD, speed reduction, and fuel change was effective for reducing the EEDI; and onboard CO2 capture system may be required for Phase 5.