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A method for analysis of maritime transportation systems in the life cycle approach – The oil tanker example

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  • Nian, Victor
  • Yuan, Jun

Abstract

The International Maritime Organization considers decarbonizing international shipping an important and necessary step towards a sustainable global trade economy. There have been commendable studies focusing on nearly all stages of maritime transport from shipbuilding, to operation and maintenance, to engine performance optimization, to fuel options, and to dismantling and recycling, but the number of whole system level life cycle analyses (LCA) on maritime transport is far less than that on energy and goods production. This scarcity highlights the need for more independent studies to enrich the LCA literature on shipping. In response, we propose a method that adapts existing methods for the analysis of energy and goods producing systems. This approach provides crucial continuity in the serial development of a generic process chain analysis framework to ensure consistency in system and boundary formulations. Findings from the case study suggest that “slow-steaming” may not always be desirable and that 12 knots could be considered as a reference optimum speed for tankers of all size categories. Cruising at 12 knots over selected routes between top oil import and export countries, a reference range of life cycle carbon emission factors is found to be 6–9mg of carbon dioxide for moving 1 tonne of crude oil over 1km distance (mg-CO2/t-km). These developments demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to provide independent assessments on the life cycle carbon emissions of maritime transport systems and to derive new and/or alternative insights on the decarbonizing measures conceived by earlier studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Nian, Victor & Yuan, Jun, 2017. "A method for analysis of maritime transportation systems in the life cycle approach – The oil tanker example," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1579-1589.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:206:y:2017:i:c:p:1579-1589
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.105
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nian, Victor, 2016. "The carbon neutrality of electricity generation from woody biomass and coal, a critical comparative evaluation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1069-1080.
    2. Nian, Victor, 2015. "Change impact analysis on the life cycle carbon emissions of energy systems – The nuclear example," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 437-450.
    3. Nian, Victor & Chou, S.K. & Su, Bin & Bauly, John, 2014. "Life cycle analysis on carbon emissions from power generation – The nuclear energy example," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 68-82.
    4. Nian, Victor, 2016. "Impacts of changing design considerations on the life cycle carbon emissions of solar photovoltaic systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1471-1487.
    5. Nian, Victor, 2016. "Analysis of interconnecting energy systems over a synchronized life cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1024-1036.
    6. Stefanos D. Chatzinikolaou & Nikolaos P. Ventikos, 2016. "Critical Analysis of Air Emissions from Ships: Lifecycle Thinking and Results," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: Harilaos N. Psaraftis (ed.), Green Transportation Logistics, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 387-412, Springer.
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    1. Yang, Shuai & Yuan, Jun & Nian, Victor & Li, Lu & Li, Hailong, 2022. "Economics of marinised offshore charging stations for electrifying the maritime sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    2. Nian, Victor & Liu, Yang & Zhong, Sheng, 2019. "Life cycle cost-benefit analysis of offshore wind energy under the climatic conditions in Southeast Asia – Setting the bottom-line for deployment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 1003-1014.
    3. Nian, Victor & Jindal, Gautam & Li, Hailong, 2019. "A feasibility study on integrating large-scale battery energy storage systems with combined cycle power generation – Setting the bottom line," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 396-408.
    4. Ahmed, Shoaib & Li, Tie & Yi, Ping & Chen, Run, 2023. "Environmental impact assessment of green ammonia-powered very large tanker ship for decarbonized future shipping operations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    5. Yuan, Jun & Nian, Victor & He, Junliang & Yan, Wei, 2019. "Cost-effectiveness analysis of energy efficiency measures for maritime shipping using a metamodel based approach with different data sources," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    6. Yabo Wang & Victor Nian & Hailong Li & Jun Yuan, 2018. "Life Cycle Analysis of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Power Generation in the Context of Southeast Asia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Jun Yuan & Haowei Wang & Szu Hui Ng & Victor Nian, 2020. "Ship Emission Mitigation Strategies Choice Under Uncertainty," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, May.
    8. Jun Yuan & Jiang Zhu & Victor Nian, 2020. "Neural Network Modeling Based on the Bayesian Method for Evaluating Shipping Mitigation Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Park, Chybyung & Jeong, Byongug & Zhou, Peilin, 2022. "Lifecycle energy solution of the electric propulsion ship with Live-Life cycle assessment for clean maritime economy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    10. Li, Hao & Huang, Wentao & Li, Ran & Yu, Moduo & Tai, Nengling & Zhou, Songli, 2023. "The multi-visit-multi-voyage scheduling of the heterogeneous shuttle tanker fleet via inventory-oriented joint planning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    11. Wang, Yabo & Liu, Shengchun & Nian, Victor & Li, Xueqiang & Yuan, Jun, 2019. "Life cycle cost-benefit analysis of refrigerant replacement based on experience from a supermarket project," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    12. Li, Yanjie & Nian, Victor & Li, Hailong & Liu, Shengchun & Wang, Yabo, 2021. "A life cycle analysis techno-economic assessment framework for evaluating future technology pathways – The residential air-conditioning example," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).

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