Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions

WiFE on Demand is an effective POLLUTION SOLUTION for marine vessels. In a nutshell, at a 30% water in fuel emulsion WiFE on Demand can reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 30%, particulate matter (PM) by 60 - 90% and possibly carbon monoxide and sulfur emissions.

The lower temperature and greater combustion from the water in fuel emulsification result in the following:

Reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the Sky in a 1:1 relationship with the emulsion's water content (20% water content = 20% NOx reduction)
Reduction of PAH-generated particulate matter into the Sky equal to 2 to 3 times the emulsion's water content (20% water = 40% to 60% reduction of PAH-generated particulate matter)
Potential reduction of sulphur oxides

This is a significant reduction in pollutants into the Sky which are becoming an increasing concern in port communities and environmentally sensitive areas.

Another important benefit is that while most processes that reduce PM will cause an increase in NOx and the ones that reduce NOx tend to increase PM, WiFE decreases both simultaneously.

While WiFE on Demand's most notable benefit is its ability to significantly reduce NOx and PM emissions into the Sky, it is also a POLLUTION SOLUTION for the Sea, and has other valuable benefits as well:

Eliminates Effluents Going into the Sea by Recyling Oily Waste Water On Board
WiFE on Demand is the first water in fuel emulsion technology for marine vessels that recycles oily waste water from on board for safe use in the combustion process which saves the ship owner money and benefits Sea, Sky and Land. This eliminates the need for costly disposal of oily waste on shore which increases operating expenses and benefits the environment. The picture shows our proprietary oily water separator detoxification unit. The ability to use an infinite variety of water to fuel ratios between 0% and 50% permits the WiFE system to use all and only the water available on the vessel.

Flexible "On Demand"
Our WiFE on Demand system provides water in fuel emulsion "on demand" so that the technology can be used when required to protect the Sky in environmental and legislative hot spots, yet still allows full engine power to be restored as required by turning WiFE off for ship maneuvering and Sea passage.

No Loss of Engine Power
Any loss of engine power relates to the use of pre-emulsified fuel which is the equivalent of using watered down whiskey (and this is overcome with our WiFE by enabling its use on demand). With pre-emulsified fuels there is a 20% water content at all times, and as a result, the vessel can never obtain more than 80% power because there is no energy value in the water. However, our system is "on demand" and only introduces water in the amount and proportion that is appropriate to specific operating conditions; so full power is always available when needed.

Fuel Neutral
Evaporating water in order to lower temperature peaks during combustion and consumes additional energy in the form of BTUs. However, the increase in BTU energy required is offset by the additional energy released from improved thermal efficiency due to increased fuel dispersion. This results in thermal efficiency, i.e. improved fuel economy which offsets thermal loss of vaporization so it is fuel neutral.

Reduces Cylinder Oil Usage
The water in fuel emulsification also creates better lubricity (slipperiness) inside the combustion chamber. The improved lubricity reduces the need for cylinder oil, which also causes emissions because it burns in the hot combustion chamber.

Reduces the Need for Refining Fuel Oil
Standard bunker fuel is a natural byproduct of refining. Additional refining emits air pollution into the Sky and is required if the bunker is to be made into low-sulfur diesel fuel. Thus, low-sulfur diesel cuts pollution into the Sky where it's burned, but creates additional pollution into the Sky where it is refined. By allowing standard bunker fuel to continue to be used in a low-emissions scenario, WiFE on Demand eliminates the need for the additional refining and its associated air pollution.

We have designed a flexible WiFE on Demand solution so that the technology can be retrofitted to a variety of vessel types and fuel system designs on 2-stroke and 4-stroke diesel engines. The WiFE on Demand unit is vessel-specific for a number of reasons. For one, the WiFE unit's size is determined by the engine size and configuration. In addition, when burning heavy fuel oil (HFO) a stabilizer is not required for the emulsion, however, if the engine is burning marine diesel oil (MDO) the fuel's specific gravity is very different than water, and therefore a stabilizer is used. In this case a dozing pump and container for the stabilizer is incorporated into WiFE's design.

Sea to Sky's diesel engine specialist from Danica Diesel inspects the vessel's existing engine prior to any WiFE on Demand installation in order to determine the exact component sizes needed and associated equipment requirements.

It is worth noting that WiFE on Demand's unit design is not dependant on whether the engine is a 2-stroke slow speed engine or a medium speed 4-stroke engine.

Note: WiFE is not cost-effective for small high-speed diesel engines because the WiFE fuel processor would both become too expensive relative to the gain in emission reductions, as well as unnecessary because instead of emulsifying water in the fuel distilled water is evaporated and injected through the air intake manifold of the engine.

While WiFE on Demand can significantly reduce emissions of NOx and PM going into the Sky on all large ocean-going vessels, older legacy fleet vessels can benefit the most from our technology. The highest emissions reductions can be achieved for vessels built prior to the new engine emissions standards for new builds in 2000. These legacy fleet vessels provide the biggest bang for the buck; as a rule of thumb, the older the ship, the greater the emission reduction achieved. Not only are these older vessels the world's greatest polluters, they are also the most immune from emission regulations. WiFE provides an effective POLLUTION SOLUTION for the Sky for operating these vessels.

Presently, the cost for vessel-specific retrofitting and installation of WiFE on Demand on a vessel is US$ 250,000. This is significantly less expensive (1/4 of the cost) than cold ironing (electrical shore-side power) which costs approximately US$ 1,000,000.

WiFE on Demand is an extremely cost-effective POLLUTION SOLUTION for reducing NOx and PM emissions going into the Sky. Based on the WiFE equipment cost of US $250,000 the cost to reduce emissions is:

US $78 per ton for NOx reduction
US $271 per ton for PM reduction

Funding authorities in California will provide funding for new technologies that can reduce emissions for a maximum of US $5,000 or less; WiFE on Demand reduces emissions for a small fraction of this cost.

However, we are working to further reduce our costs as much as possible to make the system even more cost effective.

Absolutely. In fact, Sea to Sky has specifically designed WiFE on Demand to be a flexible POLLUTION SOLUTION. In addition to being designed to integrate with Sea to Sky's other systems, WiFE has been developed to be compatible and easily integrated with other companies' pollution abatement technologies, such as SCR and sea scrubbing. (Note: SCR does not deal with PM and sea water scrubbing does not deal effectively with NOx.) It is not our intention to compete with other reputable companies that are developing compatible abatement technologies; rather, our goal is to work with these companies whenever possible to provide the best possible POLLUTION SOLUTIONS for the Sea and Sky

Sea to Sky has also developed other POLLUTION SOLUTION technologies for the Sea and Sky that can be both stand alone component systems, as well as being easily integrated with WiFE on Demand:

A real-time 24/7 emissions monitoring POLLUTION SOLUTION to monitor emission going into the Sky.

An effluent detoxification POLLUTION SOLUTION to mitigate polluting effluents going into the Sea and on Land.

A real-time 24/7 engine performance monitoring POLLUTION SOLUTION to improve engine performance and reduce emissions going into the Sky.

Water in fuel emulsion or "WiFE" consists of emulsions of water in diesel fuel, typically made of 10 to 30% water mixed with fuel. In the case of marine diesel oil, surfactant additives are used to stabilize the emulsion so that the finely dispersed water droplets remain in suspension within the diesel fuel. However, with heavy fuel oil surfactants are not required.

Water in Fuel Emulsion: A Microscopic View

Water in fuel emulsion technology is a proven POLLUTION SOLUTION that significantly reduces emissions, and is the only technology that can reduce NOx and PM simultaneously. Emulsified fuels can also bring a high level of protection against engine wear and can significantly reduce engine maintenance intervals.

Water in Fuel Emulsion Process - HFO

Water in Fuel Emulsion Process - MDO

Benefits for the Sky

The lower temperature and greater combustion from the water in fuel emulsification result in the following:

A reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the Sky in a one-to-one relationship with the emulsion's water content (25% water content = 25% NOx reduction)
A reduction of PAH-generated particulate matter into the Sky equal to 2 to 3 times the emulsion's water content (25% water yields 50% to 75% reduction of PAH-generated particulate matter)
Up to a 5% reduction in carbon dioxide

Yes, water in fuel emulsion (WiFE) is a proven POLLUTION SOLUTION. Adding water to diesel dates back to the early 1900s and there are hundreds of patents issued on water-diesel blends. Aqueous emulsions have been studied for at least 30 years as an alternative to conventional gasoline and diesel fuels. The cooling effect of the presence of water in an engine has been known to reduce emissions from engines, specifically oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), with results verified by the California Air Resource Board (CARB) for other manufacturers using 15 - 20% water in fuel emulsions:

In January 2001, CARB verified that PuriNOx (WiFE) reduced NOx by 14% and reduced PM by 62.9%
In August 2002, CARB verified that Aquazole (WiFE) reduced NOx by 16% and reduced PM by 60%
In September 2003, CARB verified that Aquadyn (WiFE) reduced NOx by 15% and reduced PM by 58%

CARB reports are accepted results in the industry and among emission researchers, including engine manufacturers. Again, it should be noted that the systems above used water pre-emulsified in the bunkered fuel (equivalent to watered down whiskey), rather than using emulsified fuel on demand.

MAN B&W Diesel has also successfully installed and operated water in fuel emulsion as a POLLUTION SOLUTION for land-based diesel power stations. The longest in service is a 12L90GFCS engine on the power station in San Juan in Puerto Rico operating since 1985. Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions Corporation's consortium partners installed a water in fuel emulsion system on the Antarctic research ship Polarstern and have operated this system trouble-free since it was commissioned in 2003.

This is a great question. There are several reasons, largely due to the fact that up until now water was pre-emulsified in the fuel (PEF). PEF is the equivalent to watered down whiskey, but for the same price! Given this, would you buy it?

Here are some of the reasons why WiFE has not been used extensively as a POLLUTION SOLUTION by the marine industry:

Vessel operators will not pay for environmental benefits unless forced to and regulatory authorities will not subsidize abatement technologies unless they are certified as working.
No class approval or manufacturer acceptance of onboard emulsification systems which is essential for their use in the marine industry.
No availability of emulsified heavy fuel oil (HFO) only the more expensive marine diesel oil (MDO) was used.
Emulsified MDO is more expensive than MDO which is the equivalent of paying a premium for watered down whiskey, and so was viewed as a bad deal.
Bunkering emulsified fuel reduced the range of the vessel as part of the fuel storage space was "wasted" with water.
Emulsified fuel was not available in many locations.
No ability to turn off the emulsified fuel when full power was needed which compromised safety.

Sea to Sky has overcome these barriers to using WiFE on marine vessels by providing emulsified fuel on a demand basis when it is needed so the vessel is not required to use it all the time. An additional benefit is that our system combines on demand WiFE with an oily waste water separator system that enables the use of oily water on board in the emulsifier, thereby providing a POLLUTION SOLUTION for Sea, Sky and Land.

Not for legacy fleet vessels, which are the oldest vessels, the greatest polluters, and the most in need of POLLUTION SOLUTIONS. These older vessels can benefit the most from using WiFE technology. For legacy fleet vessels the overall water in fuel emulsion process is energy neutral because the increase in efficiency gained by the improved air to fuel mixture is offset by the energy consumed converting water into steam. As a rule of thumb, the older the ship the greater the emissions reduction achieved.

For engines manufactured after year 2000 the efficiency is already so high that we expect a slight reduced fuel economy of 1%.

Unknown to most, a single cargo ship coming into harbor can release as much pollution into the Sky as 350,000 current model year cars in one hour, while 16 container ships in port produce as many smog-forming emissions as one million cars and a single port visit by a cruise ship generates the emissions of more than 12,400 cars. These ship smokestacks release toxic emissions that lead to acid rain, global climate change, and damaging health effects to communities situated near ports. The environmental impact is far greater than previously estimated, as a 2003 study has found that large ships generate 30 percent of global nitrogen emissions - twice the previous estimates of 14 percent.

The massive scale and major environmental impact of marine shipping to our Sea and Sky is not well understood by the general public. Interestingly, when measured by the amount of pollution generated for every ton of cargo carried by an ocean-going vessel (OGV), it has less environmental impact than any other form of transportation. However, the combined environmental impact on our Sea and Sky is massive because OGVs annually transport one ton of goods for every man, woman and child on the planet, and the volume of cargo transported and the environmental impact it causes are increasing in line with global trade which is expected to triple by 2020. This is an very serious threat to human health and the environment.

This is why finding POLLUTION SOLUTIONS for marine vessels from Sea to Sky is our focus.

The impact of a heavy environmental footprint can last forever,
so we should step lightly into the future...
where our children's lives await.

Eric Hutchingame, CEO Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions