A systemic review of shipboard SCR installations in practice

Growing customer demands and more stringent regulations to reduce harmful air emissions from ships have resulted in an increased interest for the installation of shipboard abatement technologies. Specifically, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) was early adopted by several Swedish shipping companies. The potential NOx reduction efficiency of the SCR is well established, but the practical experiences of shipboard installations have been less documented. This paper reviews from a systems perspective the practical experiences of marine SCR installations in Swedish shipping. The aim is to identify important not only technical but also human and organizational conditions necessary for safe, efficient, and sustainable SCR operations at sea. Further, to investigate to what extent the capabilities and limitations of human operators and maintainers are taken into account in the design and installation phase of the systems. Two focus group interviews (n = 10) and five individual interviews were held with relevant stakeholders in the industry, following a semi-structured schedule on the themes installation, operation, maintenance, and training. The results show that deficiencies in the overall system design—with a combination of technical issues, maintenance access problems, and untrained operators with inadequate understanding of the SCR process—have led to inefficient, costly, and unsafe operations. It is concluded that installations and operations of marine SCR systems, and possibly other forthcoming abatement technologies, would benefit from the use of traditional ergonomic principles and methods. This would in turn contribute towards increased sustainability and a reduced environmental impact from shipping.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s13437-012-0034-1
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/1651436X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © World Maritime University 2012.
• Authors:
  • Österman, Cecilia
  • Magnusson, Mathias
• Publication Date: 2013-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 63-85
• Serial:
  • WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
  • ISSN: 1651-436X
  • Serial URL: http://link.springer.com/journal/13437

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality management; Human machine systems; Nitrogen oxides; Selective catalytic reduction; Shipping
• Geographic Terms: Sweden
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01603883
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 16 2016 9:23AM