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Port of Los Angeles R&D Project
On Demand Water in Fuel Emulsification System
In July of 2005 Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions submitted a proposal to the Port of Los Angeles (POLA ) through the Port Air Quality Mitigation Incentive Program (PAQMIP) to fund a short-term research and development project for an on demand water in fuel emulsion system ("WiFE on Demand") to reduce emissions from marine vessels while at berth in port. Reducing emissions in the Port has become a serious focus due to the deteriorating air quality in California's port and coastal communities as a result of marine air pollution. This program attracts a wide array of proposals from competitors from all over the globe.
Project funds were for the research and development of a functioning prototype WiFE on Demand system, and then installation of a prototype on an ocean-going vessel's (OGV) auxiliary engines in order to conduct emissions testing. The project was estimated to take between 18 and 36 months after selection by POLA.
Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions' submission was selected by POLA's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in December of 2005 and in less than one year its development partners successfully designed and installed a functioning prototype in the third quarter of 2006.
As a result of the Port of Los Angeles' PAQMIP funding support for the development of Sea to Sky's WiFE on Demand technology, Sea to Sky was soon after able to secure funding from the Port of Los Angeles through the Carl Moyer program to conduct a subsequent long-term demonstration and testing project of WiFE on Demand on M/V APL Singapore. (See "APL Project" on our website under the "Our Projects" section.)
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is supplying additional funding for testing of WiFE on Demand's emission reduction effectiveness on M/V Jakarta Express's auxiliary engine in June 2007.
Sea to Sky's On Demand Water in Fuel Emulsification System
Water in fuel emulsion is the process of emulsifying fuel and water before injection into the engine's combustion cylinder, thereby reducing the maximum peak combustion temperature which in turn reduces nitrous oxides (NOx). At the same time, when the water droplets vaporize, they produce "micro-explosions" inside the surrounding fuel droplets, and these micro-explosions expose more of the fuel's surface area to the air, which increases combustion. The micro-explosions also release the water's two elements - hydrogen and oxygen - and the additional oxygen inhibits the formation of the compound called PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), thereby reducing particulate matter (PM).
Water in fuel emulsion (WiFE) has been around since the early 1900s and is a proven technology for reducing emissions from diesel engines. Emissions reductions are in the order of 1:1 for NOx and 1:2 to 1:3 for PM based on water percentage (i.e. 30% water reduces NOx by 30% and PM by 60-90%).The in-cylinder evaporation of the water also improves the atomization of the fuel causing it to burn more completely.
However, for a variety of reasons, the use of water in fuel emulsion in the marine industry has been relatively limited to date, partly because up until recently emissions were not a focus for vessel operators.
In selecting our R&D project for funding, POLA's TAC recognized that water in fuel emulsion could prove to be a viable pollution mitigation solution for reducing marine vessel emissions at the Port if an effective, practical and safe WiFE system could be developed.
When designing our on demand WiFE system, Sea to Sky's developers specifically incorporated aspects and components into the system that would provide solutions to prevous barriers to the use other water in fuel emulstion systems. For one, our system was designed to provide the flexibility of being "on demand" so that a vessel's needs for both emission reduction and engine power can be met simultaneously. The technology can be suspended when more power and torque are required, such as in docking situations. Another important feature was eliminating the previous need for costly pre-emulsified fuels (PEFs) bunkered from on shore by integrating our WiFE system with an oily water separator so that the system uses the dirty water generated onboard. PEFs are the equivalent of purchasing watered down whiskey for the same price, however the water in the PEF has no caloric value and reduces a vessel's range and takes up extra storage space. By using oily water generated on board for the emulsification process the need to carry fresh water on board for emulsification is eliminated, as is the costly disposal of this polluted water on shore and its associated deleterious environmental impacts.
With the assistance of MAN B&W our developers designed a patented AutoPurge evacuation safety system to protect the engine so that the fuel lines would be immediately flushed of emulsified fuel in the event of engine failure, power failures or emergencies.
Port of Los Angeles R&D Vessel: Seaspan's M/V Jakarta Express
Seaspan Ship Management, one of the world's fastest growing shipping companies, saw value in participating in an R&D project that could contribute to changing of the face of water in fuel emulsion technology as a pollution solution for marine vessels. Sea to Sky was honoured to have this industry leader as a project participant. Established in the Marshall Islands in the spring of 2005, Seaspan completed the largest single successful initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on August 8, 2005 in marine history. The Seaspan vessel M/V Jakarta Express used for our project is a young ship built in 2006 and calls the Port of Los Angeles monthly.
Project Partners
A number of key government bodies and industry stakeholders participated with Sea to Sky in the Port of Los Angeles R&D Project including: vessel operator Seaspan Ship Management, the Port of Los Angeles, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MAN B&W Diesel, University of California Riverside (Center for Environmental Research & Technology (C-CERT)) and Danica Diesel.
University of California Riverside's Center for Environmental Research & Technology (C-CERT) was responsible for baseline emissions testing and will conduct the post-installation emissions testing in June 2007, which will be funded outside the scope of the original project by CARB.
Man B&W Diesel, the world's leading manufacturer of marine diesel engines worked closely with Sea to Sky to ensure the safe retrofitting of our technology on the demonstration vessel's engine, and was also instrumental in the development and patenting of the WiFE on Demand AutoPurge safety system for both the Jakarta Express Project as well as our subsequent APL Project.
For Your Interest
The Air Quality Mitigation Incentive Program is a five-year $20 million program administered by the Port of Los Angeles to provide financial incentives to assist in the implementation of projects to reduce air pollution.
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