Emissions from a marine auxiliary diesel engine at berth using heavy fuel oil

This study presents an emission measurement campaign on commercial ships plying the east coast of Australia. Detailed investigation of engine performance and emissions from main and auxiliary marine diesel engines using heavy fuel were undertaken. Marine diesel engine gaseous (O₂, CO, CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x) and particle number and mass emissions were measured using research grade instrumentation. The measurements were performed in October and November 2015 on two large cargo ships at berth, manoeuvring and during travel between the ports of Brisbane, Gladstone and Newcastle. Detailed measurements on an auxiliary engine at berth are analysed in this paper, and include engine power and RPM, fuel oil consumption, exhaust gas temperature and exhaust particle and gaseous emissions. It was found that some ship emissions were up to several orders of magnitude higher than corresponding land-based diesel emission levels. Significant variations in emissions were also related to fuel sulphur content and engine load.