Sulfur oxide (SOx) from seagoing ships contribute to local air pollution in cities and coastal areas around the world. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in particular, are a precursor to acid rain and atmospheric particulates leading to ocean acidification which can contribute to negative human health outcomes1. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) defines limits on the sulfur content in ship fuel oils, since the sulfur is ultimately released into the atmosphere through the ship’s exhaust system as sulfur dioxide (SO2). The current approved method to verify compliance to these limits requires direct sampling and analysis of on-board fuel storage tanks by regulatory personnel, a complex, time consuming and costly task. The use of remote hyperspectral imaging data along with signal processing techniques can provide rapid and accurate estimation of sulfur content in fuel oils. This webinar will describe how the Hyper-Cam, a hyperspectral camera, was used to detect, image and quantify SO2 emissions from several seagoing ships and then retrieve the sulfur content of the fuel. The sulfur content results obtained from the hyperspectral dataset compare very well to the sulfur content in the fuel obtained from bunker delivery notes provided by the ship’s owner as well as in situ measurements performed by an approved regulatory organization. This system offers a distinct advantage over existing, more complex, and time-consuming sulfur monitoring techniques as it does not require direct sampling of the fuel or the ship exhaust emissions.
Join Benjamin Saute, Field Applications Engineer, from Telops, for a high-level discussion in this next webinar.
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