The application of biogas energy as auxiliary source of energy on luxury cruise

Abstract

As the years go by and you learn new things, will emerge new questions to answer and find solutions. One of the best ways to find solutions of problems is with the engineering. So, I wanted to unite in my project my passion for the sea with boats and my concern for the environment. Personally, I had always interest in new alternative energy generation greener able to reduce the ecological footprint generated by the humanity. As I said, one of my great passions are ships and sea, which is the main reason I decided to study Marine Engineering and is the sector that I want to devote professionally. Then, what a better way to do the final project of bachelor linking ships and my concern to reduce the environmental impact generated by the shipbuilding industry. Once I know the general theme of the project, I had to decide in which aspect of shipbuilding I want to apply my knowledge. Cun-ently, the naval industry is making great strides in reducing the environmental impact and in the implementation of cleaner energy on ships, especially in oil tankers, chemical tanker, container ships, etc. On the other hand, there isn't the same intention to reduce the impact of cruise passengers, which is a growth sector and has a huge social and economic impact. This was what I opted for this type of vessels and with the fact, as it had studied, the existing regulations for the prevention and reduction of pollution at sea allow dumping of waste at sea (with some restrictions). With regard to what alternatives to apply to reduce the environmental impact of cruises, I opted for the application of biogas energy, that I could make my research to close the stage of secondary education before entering university. Thus, the idea was to apply biogas production aboard on a cruise passenger to reduce the consumption of fuel oil, reducing the emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere and the sea. The purpose of the project is to assess the feasibility of installing a biogas plant on a cruise to take advantage of organic waste generated on board to generate biogas and reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, which will reduce pollution and the environmental impact generated by the cruise. Basically, I want to assess the economic and dimensional viability of the project, sizing a biogas plant based on the biogas production capacity and see which would be the reduction of fuel consume, and the environmental and economic gains.