Americas News
Mobile Emissions Capture Tech Deployed at US West Coast Ports
A mobile emissions capture technology that can latch on to a berthed ship has been launched in the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland.
The technology's originator, STAX, has said that it can offer "land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology to shipping terminal and fleet operators for a nominal hourly fee".
The "flexible exhaust capture system [is] designed to accommodate all ships without modification", according to the company.
Retained exhaust is then filtered with 99% of particulate matter and 95% of oxides of nitrogen removed before release as purified gas.
According to STAX, it has to date treated 44 at-berth vessels for a cumulative of 2,700 hours and controlled 20.3 metric tonnes of pollutants.
STAX technology can be viewed as an alternative to cold ironing where ships plug into quayside power to reduce emissions when in port. A significant number of vessels in the global fleet are not equipped for cold ironing. According to STAX, its technology avoids any costly retrofitting while allowing ship operators to conform with air pollution rules in port.
