Modified gaussian puff method for prediction of CO2 emission from ship

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from marine transport have become one of the critical issues to the entire world community and one of the main contributors that contribute to global warming and air pollution. The ocean is known sequestrating CO2 more and faster than the forest. Methodology to Estimate Air Pollutions Emission (MEET) and Gaussian Model has been used to estimate the CO2 emission and its distribution from marine transport. However, this model does not include natural CO2 sinking rate in the air as a factor. The objective of this study was to propose a modified method to predict the CO2 emission and sinking rate emitted from marine transport and subsequently to prove that the CO2 will be sank naturally in the air via an airtight experiment. A ship database was developed from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. By using MEET methodology, the CO2 emission rate can be determined and modified Gaussian Model can be used to estimate the CO2 distribution. A modified method was tested by conducting a controlled experiment with an airtight PVC pipe to find an accurate CO2 sinking rate. The experimental results showed that a significant rate of CO2 sank naturally within a time period at sinking rates of 0.481ppm/s, 0.379ppm/s, and 0.25ppm/s at the distances of 5cm, 100cm, and 200cm. The time durations from the CO2 started to sink and the height of the CO2 sinking were varied in the modified method from the Gaussian model. In the first phase of the experiments, the CO2 needed 32 seconds to sink at a distances of 5cm from the top of the PVC pipe. While in the second phase of the experiments, the CO2 needed 651 seconds to sink at a distance of 100cm from the top of the PVC pipe. Lastly, in the third phase of the experiments, the CO2 needed 1301 seconds to sink at a distance of 200cm from the top of the PVC pipe. The rate of CO2 sink can be calculated where the CO2 was constantly sunk at a rate of 0.15cm/s or 0.0015m/s. In conclusion, the modified method is able to determine a more accurate of CO2 emission and its distribution from ship transport after integrating the CO2 sinking factor into the existing Gaussian Model equation. From the result, it also can be concluded that the CO2 can sink naturally in the air without using any other mechanism.