Mitsubishi Shipbuilding tests ammonia abatement system for ships

The company is developing an ammonia fuel supply and safety system to support the use of ammonia as a marine fuel.

PHOTO: Ammonia gas abatement system (AGAS) demonstration facility in Japan. Mitsubishi Shipbuilding

The company has begun testing the ammonia gas abatement system (AGAS), which is a subsystem of its ammonia fuel system and is used to treat unburned surplus ammonia, stated the Japan-headquartered company.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a part of the global engineering corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, will conduct demonstration tests at the Nagasaki District MHI Research & Innovation Center, it added. These tests will help the company to evaluate the performance of its AGAS in a simulated environment.

It seeks to collaborate with manufacturers of onboard ammonia-related equipment to develop technologies for the safe handling of ammonia. The fuel handling systems and subsystems that are being developed need to be capable enough to handle ammonia's toxicity and corrosive nature.

Apart from AGAS, the ammonia supply and safety system includes several other subsystems such as a high-pressure/low-pressure ammonia fuel supply system (AFSS) and an ammonia fuel tank system, said Mitsubishi Shipbuilding.

“Each of these subsystems can be modularized, allowing Mitsubishi Shipbuilding to provide the optimal modular configuration in a package for onboard plants consisting of multiple engines and boilers,” it added in the statement.

Mitsubishi also said that it will work towards further development of marine logistics and assist in shipbuilding and related engineering services for ammonia-fuelled vessels.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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