A new ‘zero particle’ ferry connecting Marseille and Ajaccio is an industry breakthrough, with a fine-particle filtration system that can capture 99% of sulphur oxides and 99.9% of fine and ultrafine particles, the main air pollutants emitted by ships.
Current EU regulations limit the sulphur content of ship fuels, but the new engine filters can reduce maritime emissions even further.
French shipowner La Méridionale has been testing the pollution-busting devices for its new ferry, ‘Piana’, for three years. The filters are now capable of removing almost all fine and ultrafine particles emitted by the ferry.
“We can see that a small company is able to implement sophisticated technologies, with immediate benefits for very large players.” says Damien Piga, innovation director of the French air quality monitoring organisation AtmoSud.
To reduce the level of sulphur oxide in fuel, ships would need to use either a less polluting fuel or a ‘scrubber’ which washes the fumes with sea water, he explains. Scrubbers, which are placed in the chimneys of ships, usually discharge the pollutants into the sea.
“The baghouse filter has existed for almost 30 years now,” says Christophe Seguinot, technical director of La Méridionale. “It works by neutralising the polluting particles with sodium bicarbonate as they are emitted in the exhaust gases, then capturing them in filter bags.
“The challenge for us was to make it suitable for the maritime sector. This involved making the device smaller and lighter, so it could be installed on board a ferry while leaving enough space for travellers.”
The company is working towards truly ‘zero emission’ ferries by reducing its nitrogen oxide emissions, a significant part of air pollution. It is hoped the technology could be applied to cruise liners in future.
Shipping is responsible for about 10% of air pollution in Marseille. Earlier this month, more than 50,000 people signed a petition to ban polluting cruise ships from Marseille.
Speaking about the Piana ferry, Marseilles mayor Benoît Payan tweeted, “Let’s hope that the big polluters take example from La Méridionale.”
