Aurelia Miquel

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is increasingly used in maritime propulsion systems to reduce atmospheric emissions. However, methane slip from dual-fuel engines remains a critical limitation due to the high global warming potential of methane. This study presents a comprehensive experimental assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a new-generation low-pressure four-stroke dual-fuel (LPDF 4-S) engine installed on a cruise vessel and operating on both LNG and marine gas oil (MGO). Measurements were carried out during full-scale sea trials under real navigation conditions. Results show that methane slip remains strongly dependent on engine load, with low and stable values at medium-to-high loads (1.95 g·kWh⁻¹ average over the 60–90% range) and a value of 5.6 g·kWh⁻¹ at 26% engine load. Compared with the previous engine generation (46DF), the 46TS-DF engine exhibits an approximate 18% reduction in methane slip above 60% load. On a well-to-wake basis, this results in an overall carbon dioxide CO₂-equivalent emission reduction of about 6%, of which 42% is attributable to methane slip reduction and the remainder to improved energy efficiency. In contrast, switching from MGO to LNG operation leads to a 21% decrease in CO₂-equivalent emissions. Black carbon (BC) emissions were measured and as expected despite the limited number of available studies, they were found to be significantly lower in LNG mode, with reductions exceeding 90% compared with MGO operation. Finally, an Engine Load Monitoring (ELM) analysis based on one year of operational data highlights the strong influence of vessel operating profiles on methane slip. The application of both International Maritime Organization (IMO) and FuelEU Maritime methodologies yields consistent methane slip coefficients (1.34% and 1.36%, respectively), significantly lower than current default values, noting that these estimates do not include crankcase emissions. These results demonstrate the importance of integrating real operational conditions into emission assessment frameworks for LNG-fuelled vessels.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is increasingly used in maritime propulsion systems as a means to reduce atmospheric emissions. However, methane slip from dual-fuel engines remains a critical limitation due to the high global warming potential of methane. This study presents a comprehensive experimental assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a new-generation four-stroke dual-fuel engine installed on a cruise vessel and operating on both LNG and marine gas oil (MGO). Measurements were carried out during full-scale sea trials under real navigation conditions. Results show that methane slip remains strongly dependent on engine load, with low and stable values at medium-to-high loads (1.95 g/kWh average over the 60–90% range) and a significant increase at low load. Compared with a previous engine generation (46DF), the 46TS-DF engine exhibits an approximate 18% reduction in methane slip above 60% load. On a well-to-wake basis, this results in an overall CO₂-equivalent emission reduction of about 6%, of which 42% is attributable to methane slip reduction and the remainder to improved energy efficiency. In contrast, switching from LNG to MGO operation leads to a 23.5% increase in CO₂-equivalent emissions. Black carbon (BC) emissions were measured and as expected despite the limited number of available studies, they were found to be significantly lower in LNG mode, with reductions exceeding 90% compared with MGO operation. Finally, an Engine Load Monitoring (ELM) analysis based on one year of operational data highlights the strong influence of vessel operating profiles on methane slip. The application of both IMO and FuelEU methodologies yields consistent methane slip coefficients (1.34% and 1.36%, respectively), significantly lower than current default values, noting that these estimates do not include crankcase emissions. These results demonstrate the importance of integrating real operational conditions into emission assessment frameworks for LNG-fuelled vessels.