JAPAN – WORLDWIDE – Amongst environmentalists the subject of carbon capture is a somewhat contentious one, however the latest news from Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, more commonly known as K Line, claims it is looking hard at a project which goes some way to both capturing the CO2 emitted from its fleet, and disposing of it in a responsible manner.
The shipping group is deploying a small-scale, marine-use demonstration plant for CO2 capture on board a vessel and conducting research and development on compact facility design, in collaboration with project partners Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and non-profit organisation ClassNK.
The project is supported by the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) as part of its portfolio of programmes to support research and development for advancing marine resource technologies. With the support of MLIT, K Line will collaborate with its two partners to install a small-scale CO2 capture demonstration plant on board its vessel, conduct test operations of the plant, and measure its performance.
The marine-use CO2 capture demonstration plant will be based on an onshore plant and designed to capture a portion of a vessel’s gas emissions. This project will not only verify the efficacy of capturing and storing CO2 from a ship's emissions, but also the operability and safety of CO2 capture facilities at sea. These demonstration tests are aimed at promoting the development of more compact equipment required by marine environments along with the development of system requirements necessary for stable continuous operation at sea.
The two-year project began in August 2020 with the launch of a HAZID (hazard identification) evaluation of the demonstration plant and its deployment on vessels, with verification from ClassNK. In mid 2021 Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will begin development and construction of a small-scale CO2 capture demonstration plant and evaluate system safety, subsequently beginning test operations of the demonstration plant at its factory.
After testing the plant will be deployed on K Line’s 89,000 dwt thermal coal carrier Corona Utility operated for Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. By the end of fiscal 2021, the project partners intend to start operating the demonstration plant on-board the vessel and measuring the system’s performance under marine conditions, with the aim of jointly developing a new marine system for vessels.
As the world’s first marine demonstration test, the partners say the project will provide invaluable insights into facilities design and technologies for capturing CO2 emissions and achieving zero emissions on board vessels. Additionally, the captured CO2 is expected to be recycled as a new carbon source for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes or as raw material in synthetic fuel through methanation. Used in this way, the claim for the project is that it will significantly contribute to the long-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
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