Solidification and storage of CO2 captured on ships - feasibility analysis through experiment, simulation and case studies

The concerns about global climate change are growing year and year and carbon capture on ships is an excellent solution to global warming. To meet the IMO target of 20% CO2 reduction from shipping by 2020, solidification of CO2 separated from engine exhaust had been proposed and tested by the authors as an effective way to mitigate the CO2 emission while other low carbon shipping technologies being developed. After a comprehensive literature review on onshore CCS methods, mechanically implemented current carbon capture and storage technologies on ships is not practical because there are various limitations on practical application on ships. In this paper, a novel chemical CO2 absorption and solidification method for CO2 storage onboard is proposed, presented and analyzed. Technical feasibility with principles explanation and cost assessment are carried out for a selected case ship with a comparison of proposed method and liquefaction methods. This paper presents results obtained from laboratory experiment and CFD simulations including key factors that affect the absorption rate, such as the geometry of reaction tank, flow rate of gas input and concentration of alkaline solution. Case study and laboratory experiment have indicated that the proposed CO2 solidification method is a promising, cost effective and practical feasible method for carbon emission reduction on ships.