Shipping, World Trade & CO2

The international shipping industry recognizes the need and is committed to reduction of green- house gases and carbon dioxide gases. Even though, the shipping industry is the most carbon efficient means of transport, on the whole, the industry’s carbon emissions are just 3% of global emissions as compared to those of a major nation economy.

To that extent, the industry would have to aim at the carbon emission reduction level set by the new United Nations Climate Change Convention.  From this year shipping industry aims for the major reduction in CO2 emissions.

However, since the shipping industry is  majorly dependent on world trade, the growth of the world economy and the population would inadvertently determine the sector’s total  reduction  in carbon emissions in the future.

 

Source : NTM Sweden & ICS

Friction Reduction on Ship Hulls by blowing bubbles: by Mitsubishi

Feb 2012: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and transport company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has planed and tested out effectiveness of a system which will reduce the frictional resistance between the seawater and vessel's bottom by using a layer of air bubbles. The Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System(MALS) has been coupled with high-efficiency ship hull for a container ship . The company claims which will in turn will reduce the CO2 emission by 35% compared to conventional carrier designs.

To test out this MALS , MHI  installed it on a module carrier  of NYK subsidiary called "YAMATAL" and  verified the CO2 reduction efficiency. This module carrier was choosen as they have a shollow -draft hull that generates relatively low water pressure which minimizes the amount of electricity required by an air blower to supply air to the vessel's bottom. Even the flat wide bottom retains the supplied air supplied under the vessel's bottom.

It was quite successful, as MHI was expecting the reduction of CO2 by 10% . After this the company looked into the second application of the technology with the completion of the conceptual design of the "MALS-14000CS," a New Panamax size 14,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) container vessel.

Same as YAMATAI, MHI expects the MALS-14000CS will give the result of 10 percent reduction in CO2 emissions through the MALS. But they went for additional design features by which MHI expects an overall cut in CO2 emissions of 35 percent. These new additions are as follows:

1. A new high-performance hull form that places the bridge relatively forward

2.Exhaust funnels at the stern, and additional container space under the accommodation quarter. 

3. Ship will coupled with a two-engine & two-shaft propulsion system. These will reduce the carbon emission by 24 percent.

4. Diesel engine and waste heat recovery system will be fully electronically controlled which will provide another five percent.

5. A Sox scrubber to remove sulfur oxide from flue gas, and a ballast water treatment system.

Researcher are developing  superhydrophobic surfaces modeled on the water fern salvinia molesta, which is able to remain completely dry when submerged by trapping a layer of air on the surface of its leaves using tiny hairs. Combining MALS with such a surface would mean the air wouldn't need to be pumped continually to the bottom of the vessel.

This plant fern surrounds itself by a layer of air that enables it to remain dry when underwater. While it has been understood for some time that this is a result of tiny hairs on the plant's leaves which trap air, the problem in mimicking this phenomenon has been to make the layer stick. When replicated, this superhydrophobic surface disappears after several hours in moving water, but salvinia molesta can stay "dry" even when submerged for weeks.

Source: MHI & University of Bonn

Global Warming and Its Effect !!

Global warming is the term which define the cumulative effect of  Green House Gases. Main GHG are Methane and Carbon dioxide. These gases, they built up at lower atmosphere of earth and traps the sun's heat. It not only increases the earth surface temperature but mainly causes climate change, happen to our environment, atmosphere and weather over time. Climate change impacts the hydrology and biology of the planet -- everything, including winds, rains and temperature, is linked.

Global warming isn't just about things getting hotter -- other changes can occur, including stormier, drier and even, in some instances, colder conditions

Effects of Global Warming !!

1. Sea Level to Rise

Higher temperature melts the ice in glaciers, sea ice and polar ice sheets. It increases the water in world's seas and oceans. 

Scientists are able to measure direct impacts on people in the United States by melting water from Greenland's ice cap: The flow of the Colorado River has increased sixfold [source: Scientific American]. And scientists project that as the ice shelves on Greenland and Antarctica melt, sea levels could be more than 20 feet (6 meters) higher in 2100 than they are today [source: An Inconvenient Truth]. Such levels would submerge many of Indonesia's tropical islands and flood low-lying areas such as Miami, New York City's Lower Manhattan and Bangladesh.

2. Shrinking Glaciers

The  Himalayan glaciers which are the source of  the Ganges River, which supplies drinking and irrigation water to 500 million people, are reportedly shrinking by 40 yards (37 meters) each year [source: The Washington Post].

3. Heat Waves

Europe was hit by deadly heat wave in 2003, killing an estimated 35,000 people, could be the harbinger of an intense heat trend that scientists began tracking in the early 1900s [source: MSNBC].

4. Storms and Floods

High Temperature heats up the ocean water which  in turns give strength to hurricanes. Increasing ocean and atmospheric temperatures with give birth to violent storms. Between 1905 and 2005 the frequency of hurricanes has been on a steady ascent. From 1905 to 1930, there were an average of 3.5 hurricanes per year; 5.1 between 1931 and 1994; and 8.4 between 1995 and 2005 [source: USA Today]. In 2005, a record number of tropical storms developed, and in 2007, the worst flooding in 60 years hit Britain [sources: Reuters, Center for American Progress].

5. Droughts

Experts say that as the climate warms drought conditions may increase by at least 66 percent which results in quick shrinkage of supply water and reducing quality agriculture . India , Pakistan and Sub-Saharan Africa are also going through it.

6. Disease 

While more than 150,000 people die from climate change-related sickness each year, everything from heat-related heart and respiratory problems to malaria are on the rise [source: The Washington Post]. Cases of allergies and asthma are also increasing.

7. Economic Consequences

Billions of Dollars of damage will be caused as a result of serve storms, floods, earth quakes, etc. Extreme weather can create extreme financial setbacks. For example, during the record-breaking hurricane year of 2005, Louisiana saw a 15 percent drop in income during the months following the storms, while property damage was estimated at $135 billion [source: Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University].

8. Conflicts and War

Lack of food, water and land will create conflict , war , aggression, panic  and all kind of instability.

The conflict in Darfur has been partly blamed on stresses caused by global warming

9.  Biodiversity Loss

Extinction of many wild life, plants  and animal species is  happening due to desertification, deforestation and ocean warming, as well as the inability to adapt to climate warming.

This will effect humans overall as rising sea level and loss of plant/ animal will cause  loss of food, fuel and income.

10. Destruction of Ecosystem

Models been made on temperature variations which tell increasing chances of devastating floods, drought, wildfires, ocean acidification and eventual collapse of functioning ecosystems worldwide, terrestrial and aquatic alike.

Reference: Discovery