25 The Impact of Port Operations on Air Quality in Piraeus …
163
25.4 Conclusions
The impact of exhaust emissions from marine traffic on the air quality of Piraeus
and the surrounding areas was investigated. A bottom-up scheme was used to establish shipping emissions based on emission factors calculated for different classes of
vessels and spatial activity data obtained from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), while maps of pollutants concentrations were obtained by applying
the MEMO/MARS-aero chemical dispersion system. The calculated concentrations
indicate that the port has a dominant contribution to the air pollution in the nearby
areas, while the corresponding PM 10 and NO 2 concentrations have extended local
maxima higher than the legislative limit values. Calculations under a scenario of cold
ironing for ships in berth indicated a potential reduction by more than 60% of the
shipping sector contributions to the observed concentrations. These results point to
the need to prioritize emissions mitigation and other control measures related to the
port activities of Piraeus.
Q & A
QUESTIONER: Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen (FMI)
QUESTION: What was assumed for the ship fuel in this study? The EU sulphur
directive regulates the fuel used while at berth. Was that taken into account?
ANSWER: The fuel-dependent emission factors for the main and auxiliary engines
were adapted from the inventories used in TRANSPHORM project (2014) and as
such may not accurately reflect current emission trends. On the other hand, the selection of 2015 as reference year and corresponding activity data for our calculations
indicates that the shipping emissions are consistently calculated. In any case, it is
trivial to apply correction factors as part of the presented methodology in order to
accurately represent fuel specifications consistent with present or planned legislative
frameworks.
QUESTIONER: Talat Odman (GA TECH)
QUESTION: The title of your talk mentions “port operations” but it appears you only
focused on ship emissions. What about cargo handling equipment (cranes, forklifts
etc.)? Are they all electrified at Piraeus? Also, trucks and locomotives that come into
the port to distribute the cargo (and passengers/vehicles) may be considered as part
of the port operations.
ANSWER: Although cargo handling in Piraeus is indeed highly electrified, this is a
valid remark with respect to our treatment of the road cargo- and passenger traffic
around the port. Of course, the traffic emissions on the public road network (including
the roads surrounding the port) are included in the calculation as part of the “city
road” emission sector. But the contribution of these emissions near- and in the port
area are not explicitly apportioned to the “port operation” sector in the dispersion
results. This could be a point of improvement in a future extension of the study.
QUESTIONER: Sebnem Aksoyoglu (PSI)
QUESTION: What is the temporal variation of the contribution from ships to PM2.5
concentrations? Does it follow the same temporal variation as emissions?
163
25.4 Conclusions
The impact of exhaust emissions from marine traffic on the air quality of Piraeus
and the surrounding areas was investigated. A bottom-up scheme was used to establish shipping emissions based on emission factors calculated for different classes of
vessels and spatial activity data obtained from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), while maps of pollutants concentrations were obtained by applying
the MEMO/MARS-aero chemical dispersion system. The calculated concentrations
indicate that the port has a dominant contribution to the air pollution in the nearby
areas, while the corresponding PM 10 and NO 2 concentrations have extended local
maxima higher than the legislative limit values. Calculations under a scenario of cold
ironing for ships in berth indicated a potential reduction by more than 60% of the
shipping sector contributions to the observed concentrations. These results point to
the need to prioritize emissions mitigation and other control measures related to the
port activities of Piraeus.
Q & A
QUESTIONER: Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen (FMI)
QUESTION: What was assumed for the ship fuel in this study? The EU sulphur
directive regulates the fuel used while at berth. Was that taken into account?
ANSWER: The fuel-dependent emission factors for the main and auxiliary engines
were adapted from the inventories used in TRANSPHORM project (2014) and as
such may not accurately reflect current emission trends. On the other hand, the selection of 2015 as reference year and corresponding activity data for our calculations
indicates that the shipping emissions are consistently calculated. In any case, it is
trivial to apply correction factors as part of the presented methodology in order to
accurately represent fuel specifications consistent with present or planned legislative
frameworks.
QUESTIONER: Talat Odman (GA TECH)
QUESTION: The title of your talk mentions “port operations” but it appears you only
focused on ship emissions. What about cargo handling equipment (cranes, forklifts
etc.)? Are they all electrified at Piraeus? Also, trucks and locomotives that come into
the port to distribute the cargo (and passengers/vehicles) may be considered as part
of the port operations.
ANSWER: Although cargo handling in Piraeus is indeed highly electrified, this is a
valid remark with respect to our treatment of the road cargo- and passenger traffic
around the port. Of course, the traffic emissions on the public road network (including
the roads surrounding the port) are included in the calculation as part of the “city
road” emission sector. But the contribution of these emissions near- and in the port
area are not explicitly apportioned to the “port operation” sector in the dispersion
results. This could be a point of improvement in a future extension of the study.
QUESTIONER: Sebnem Aksoyoglu (PSI)
QUESTION: What is the temporal variation of the contribution from ships to PM2.5
concentrations? Does it follow the same temporal variation as emissions?