Evergreen Containership Retrofitted with Full Carbon Capture System

A Chinese shipyard completed the first retrofit of a fully functioning carbon capture system aboard a large containership. The system can conduct all phases of the process from absorption through compression, liquefaction, and storage, which they believe will be an advantage in developing and commercializing the technology.

The installation was undertaken earlier this year aboard the Ever Top, a 152,300 dwt Panama-registered containership with a capacity of 18,000 TEU. Operating for Evergreen, the vessel is part of the line’s T Class, a group of 20 ships delivered between 2013 and 2017. The installation was timed to the 10-year class survey and an overhaul of the vessel at the Huarun Dadong Shipyard in Shanghai.

The system that was installed uses amine absorbents to selectively capture and separate CO2 in the ship’s exhaust. It is then compressed and liquified for transportation, storage, or utilization in industrial applications. They report in testing the system has been able to achieve a comprehensive CO2 capture rate of more than 80 percent with the purity of the CO2 reaching more than 99 percent.

The system was developed by Qiyao Environmental Protection, a company that is working on high-efficiency CO2 capture technology. Through their testing and the use of new absorbents, the company reports it has been able to greatly reduce the energy requirements for the system’s operations.

The Ever Top was fitted with an absorption module, regeneration module, compression refrigeration, and storage. Pictures of the vessel show an enlarged funnel with a parallel tower that contains the CO2 system. She completed her shipyard visit departing Shanghai and is now back in service sailing between Asia and Europe. 

Carbon capture has been viewed as a promising technology similar to scrubbers in that it could provide a critical tool to extend the life of in-service vessels by cleaning engine exhaust. Several companies are working on developing the technology for aboard ships, with one of the challenges being to develop the shoreside infrastructure for the offloading of the CO2 and either its reuse or long-term storage.