Cubic's Exhaust Gas Emission Monitoring System Solution for Marine Industry

How to Choose Reliable Ship CEMS to Meet the Upcoming GHG Emission regulations?

The marine shipping industry faces increasing pressure to reduce air pollution as health and global environmental concerns intensify. The IMO 2020 regulation mandated a significant reduction in fuel oil sulfur content from 3.5% to 0.5%, where compliance can be verified through measuring the sulfur dioxide to carbon dioxide emission ratio (SO2/CO2), which serves as an indicator of the sulfur content in the fuel. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring requirements are also evolving stricter globally. Building on the Initial IMO Strategy, recent regulations including the EU Emissions Trading System (EUETS) Directive (EU2023/959) and EU MRV Regulation (EU2023/957) will extend GHG emissions monitoring requirements. From January 1, 2024, shipping companies must monitor and report not only CO2 but also methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. By 30 April of each year (31 March as of 2025), companies must submit verified emissions reports for the entire previous year's reporting period. With growing regulations addressing both sulfur contents for air quality and greenhouse gases for climate change worldwide, reliable monitoring solutions that can accurately measure all regulated emissions have become crucial for maritime operations.

Cubic Instruments, a high-tech enterprise specializing in gas composition and flow measurement, has leveraged its extensive experience in gas analysis to develop a comprehensive solution to address complex challenges of marine exhaust gas emissions monitoring and helps shipowners meet the new regulatory requirements.

Gasboard-9085: Advanced Marine Exhaust Gas Analysis System with Multi-Gas Monitoring

One of the greatest challenges in marine emissions monitoring is ensuring accurate gas composition analysis in harsh marine environments. High humidity and salinity can significantly interfere with measurement accuracy and accelerate equipment corrosion, while continuous ship vibration often causes precision instruments to lose calibration. To address these challenges, Cubic Instruments has specifically developed Continuous Emissions Monitoring System, Gasboard-9085, for marine exhaust gas analysis. The system is built around an integrated multi-platform approach to comprehensive emissions monitoring. For greenhouse gases measurements, it utilizes NDIR technology for CO2 measurements, advanced GFC technology for N2O measurements, and cutting-edge TDLAS technology for CH4 concentration monitoring. Additionally, the system employs NDUV technology for accurate SO2 & NOx measurement to verify fuel quality and emission gases after combustion are within regulated limit.

Building upon the above capabilities, Gasboard-9085 also incorporates sophisticated environmental protection features to ensure reliable operation in marine conditions. The full-process high-temperature heating design effectively prevents the loss of soluble gas SO2 that may affect measurement accuracy, and condensation issues that could corrode metal components. To ensure long-term durability, the entire gas sampling path of Gasboard-9085, including the sampling probe, inline filters, heated pipeline, and other components that contact with sample gas directly in the circuit are all constructed with corrosion-resistant materials. To address the persistent challenge of ship vibration, Gasboard-9085 employs innovative electronic-tuning analysis modules without mechanical moving parts and well ensures measurement stability even in rough seas. Through these features, Gasboar-9085 maintains consistent measurement accuracy across all measured gases, making it a reliable solution for maritime emissions monitoring.

Gasboard-7900M: High-Precision Ultrasonic Gas Flowmeter for Marine Applications

Beyond accurate gas composition analysis, another critical challenge lies in accurate gas flow rate measurement within ship emission pipelines, where gas flowmeters often struggle with unstable flow fields, low flow rates, and uneven distribution. Complex exhaust compositions from diverse marine fuels, including oil pollution, soot, and oil-water mixtures, further complicate accurate measurements. To overcome these limitations, Cubic Instruments developed ultrasonic gas flowmeter Gasboard-7900M for accurate gas flow rate measurement. Utilizing advanced non-contact ultrasonic measurement technology, Gasboard-7900M employs one or more pairs of ultrasonic transceivers to calculate the linear average velocity of radial gas flow, achieving high measurement accuracy even under complex flow field conditions. The versatility feature of Gasboard-7900M is evident in its wide measurement range, accommodating pipe diameters from 0.3m upward and flow rates from 0.1m/s to 40m/s, making it suitable for various vessel types and operating conditions. Additionally, integrated temperature and pressure measurement provide essential parameters for comprehensive emission calculations. The robust design of Gasboard-7900M features specialized purge protection for ultrasonic transducers and IP65-rated protection, ensuring reliable long-term operation in challenging marine environments.

The synergistic application of Gasboard-9085 and Gasboard-7900M provides shipowners with a comprehensive monitoring solution that ensures full regulatory compliance. The combination of accurate gas concentration measurements and precise flow rate measurement enables shipowners to fulfill the latest EU MRV requirements with confidence, while significantly reducing the workload associated with monitoring report preparation and verification audits.

Through continued research and development, Cubic Instruments' comprehensive approach to maritime emission monitoring demonstrates its deep understanding of industry challenges and its ability to deliver solutions that not only meet current regulatory requirements but also anticipate future needs. As environmental protection requirements become increasingly stringent and regulations evolve, Cubic Instruments’ innovative solutions continue to adapt and improve. Through its global business strategy and unwavering commitment to quality and innovation, Cubic Instruments has established itself as a trusted provider of gas analysis solutions, contributing to the advancement of maritime environmental protection across international markets.