Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a unit of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has collaborated with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) to undertake test operations and measurements for what it claims to be the world’s first small scale ship-based CO2 capture demonstration plant.
The demonstration project will see the design conversion of the existing CO2 capture system for an onshore power plant to the marine environment and subsequently installed onboard a vessel.
Carbon Capture on the Ocean project aims to achieve CO2 capture at sea
The two-year project, named Carbon Capture on the Ocean (CC-Ocean), aims to achieve CO2 capture from the exhaust gases of marine equipment and ships.
As part of the project, the partners plan to launch a hazard identification (HazID) study in August, for the design of the demonstration plant and the onboard installation.
Following factory testing, demonstration plant will be manufactured in mid-2021 and subsequently installed onboard K Line’s Corona Utility, a thermal coal carrier operated for Tohoku Electric Power.
In a press statement, Mitsubishi said: “Through operational and performance confirmation in an actual marine environment, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will then determine the system specification requirements as a marine-based device and will also consider how to make the plant more compact.”
The CC-Ocean project is backed by Maritime Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
K Line said in a statement: “As the world’s first marine demonstration test, the project will provide invaluable insights into facilities design and technologies for capturing CO2 emissions and achieving zero emissions onboard vessels.
“Additionally, the captured CO2 is expected to be recycled as a new CO2 source for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes or as raw material in synthetic fuel through methanation. In this way, the project will significantly contribute to the long-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
