ENERGY EFFICIENCY BASED OPERATION OF COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEM ON SHIPS TO REDUCE FUEL CONSUMPTION AND CO2 EMISSION

Energy efficiency subject has been gaining importance in maritime sector. The compressed air is a valuable energy source in operational manner, by the reason of intrinsic lack of efficiency in pressurization process. Operational pressure and leakage rate are the major variables which affect operational efficiency of the system. This study aims to reveal potential energy saving for the compressed air system. To this end, several pressure ranges, 29-30 bars to 14-18 bars, and different leakage rates 2.4% to 45% are evaluated. After the data was obtained from ships, thermodynamic calculations had been carried out. Optimization of pressure saves 47.3% in daily power requirement, 58,2% in compressed air unit cost, 18.4 and 57.4 tons of reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in a year respectively. High leakage rates can cause 2.7 times more power and fuel consumption. Finally, operating load, as an important indicator of compressor, makes imperfections identifiable.