American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 38th Annual Conference
October 5 - October 9, 2020

Virtual Conference

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Towards a Standardized Measurement System for Black Carbon Emissions from Ships

Stephanie Gagne, JALAL NOROOZ OLIAEE, Fengshan Liu, Joel Corbin, Prem Lobo, Gregory Smallwood, National Research Council Canada

     Abstract Number: 127
     Working Group: Combustion

Abstract
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is considering reducing black carbon emissions from international shipping and, as of May 2019, IMO’s Pollution Prevention and Response sub-committee has been tasked to "develop a standardized sampling, conditioning and measurement protocol, including a traceable reference method and an uncertainty analysis" for the measurement of black carbon from ships. The subcommittee has already identified three methods for the measurement of black carbon from ships: namely Filter Smoke Number (FSN), Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS), and Laser-Induced Incandescence (LII). None of these methods alone constitute a standardized and traceable sampling, conditioning and measurement system that can be applied in different contexts.

While standardized measurement systems for black carbon emissions exist for the aviation and automotive sectors, there are currently no standardized measurement systems capable of handling the wide variety and range of co-emitted species found in marine engine exhaust. The wide variation in marine fuels, engines and after-treatment system used by ships around the world leads to a wide range in exhaust emission conditions and co-emitted constituents. Measuring marine engine black carbon emissions in a standard and repeatable way under such a wide range of conditions brings many challenges.

In this study, we combine the lessons learned developing standardized systems for black carbon emissions from other sectors with systems used in the marine industry, and recommend a prototype sampling, conditioning and measurement system that takes the special features of marine engine emissions into consideration.