AsiaDry CargoEnvironment

K Line makes history with successful carbon capture at sea

Carbon capture and storage at sea is now a thing following landmark trials onboard a Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) coal carrier.

Tokyo-headquartered K Line has been carrying out trials of a new contraption it has installed on a ship on charter to Tohoku Electric Power, which it developed in association with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and ClassNK.

The captured CO2 had a purity of more than 99.9%, which allows it potentially to be used in a wide range of applications, including chemical processes to enhance production of fertilizer or methanol, general use such as dry ice for cooling, and enhanced oil recovery to increase crude oil production.

Onboard CO2 storage developments are making plenty of headlines this year. Last month Splash reported from the Netherlands where scrubber manufacturer Value Maritime is installing a CO2 capture and storage unit on a 1,036 teu boxship, Nordica, belonging to Visser Shipping.

In South Korea, meanwhile, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has developed a technology to store CO2 captured in ship engine emissions. The South Korean yard said it plans to commercialise the technology as soon as possible.

Today it was also announced that Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment and Solvang, a Norwegian shipping company, have agreed on a full-scale pilot retrofit installation of a CCS system on one of Solvang’s ethylene carriers, the 21,000 cu m Clipper Eos.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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