STAX Engineering, a progressive startup based in Long Beach, is at the forefront of marine environmental innovation, specifically focused on reducing air pollution from ships at port.
Their groundbreaking technology is designed to capture harmful exhaust emissions from vessels, transforming these pollutants into byproducts like water vapor and carbon dioxide.
As reported by Bloomberg, STAX Engineering has successfully implemented its pollution-capturing technology at several major ports in California, including those in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland.
Air contamination can lead to serious health issues, particularly for communities located close to ports. To tackle this problem, the California Air Resources Board has implemented regulations for ships at ports, requiring them to decrease their emissions by 80% while docked.
One method for vessels to achieve this is by connecting to electrical power through an extension cord instead of using their engines to generate electricity, but this option requires retrofitting vessels with the necessary plug-in equipment, which can be expensive and inconvenient, especially for ships that dock in California infrequently.
Offering an alternative, STAX Engineering’s pollution-capturing technology, which Bloomberg compared to a “range hood”, filters exhaust from the ships and then releases water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Powered by renewable diesel, the technology is said to eliminate 95% of nitrogen oxides and 99% of diesel particulate matter. At present, vessels at port have the option to pay an hourly charge to utilize this technology, and the company plans to enhance the system in the future to also remove carbon dioxide.
Talking to Bloomberg, CEO Mike Walker commented, “What we have now is this network of distributed capture vehicles that will be pre-treating the NOx [nitrogen oxide] and PM [particulate matter] of all these vessels, and now we can build out a carbon solution.”
As of February, this technology had provided service to 44 ships, with the potential to accommodate 146 vessels annually, according to Bloomberg. The news outlet also reported that currently, STAX Engineering has only installed two systems but aims to have 20 operational by 2025, which will be capable of servicing the entire state.
source: carbonherald.com
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