TERA of Gas Turbine Propulsion Systems for RORO Ships

Abstract

Recently, regulations on emissions produced by vessels from international maritime organizations, along with the instability of fuel prices, have encouraged researchers to explore fuels and technology that are cleaner than heavy fuel oil and diesel engines. In this study, we employed the TERA method to evaluate the feasibility of using gas turbine engines with cleaner fuels as a replacement for diesel engines as a propulsion system for RORO ships. A sensitivity evaluation and risk assessment were also conducted to investigate the impact of applied emission taxes on the economic results. The findings indicated that the diesel engine emitted higher nitrogen oxide emissions than the gas turbine fuelled by natural gas and hydrogen. The gas turbine with hydrogen had zero carbon dioxide emissions, making it a sustainable energy production option. The economic aspects were evaluated based on an international route, and they revealed that economic profitability significantly depended on fuel costs and consumption. The diesel engine fuelled by marine diesel oil and the gas turbine fuelled by natural gas were economically attractive, whereas the gas turbine fuelled by hydrogen was less viable due to its high operating cost. However, in a scenario where a carbon dioxide tax was introduced, the gas turbine fuelled by hydrogen showed high potential as a low-risk investment compared to the other technologies. In summary, this study demonstrated the usefulness of the TERA method in the maritime sector for selecting and comparing various propulsion systems.