Reduction of the harmful NOx pollutants emitted from the ship engines using high-pressure selective catalytic reduction system

Various techniques are used to reduce harmful pollutants such as NOX emissions from ships. Selective catalyst reduction (SCR) systems are the most effective technique used to reduce NOX emissions. In this study, the effects of an SCR reactor on NOX emissions and performance in high-pressure selective catalytic reduction (HP-SCR) systems were investigated numerically. In numerical studies, the effects of SCR system diameter, output form, catalyst activation energy, mixing zone length, and location were investigated as parametric, and the most suitable system geometry was determined. The effects of geometric parameters and catalyst type on emission and performance such as NOX reduction, NH3 slip, velocity, and pressure loss were investigated. It was determined that with increasing system diameter, whereas the NOX reduction performance increased depending on exhaust velocity, the pressure drop decreased, and the most suitable system diameter was determined as 780 mm. Furthermore, the obtained results showed that the performance of NOX reduction decreased after 2 × 106 kJ/kmol activation energy, and the most suitable SCR output form was conical geometry. In terms of the environment, this study will contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals such as climate action (SDG 13). © The Author(s) 2024.