Description
Emissions of greenhouse gases from fishing vessels have a significant impact on climate change due to intense use of fossil fuels. Research activities emphasize the search for navigation technologies and strategies that enable the reduction of fuel consumption. The “variable displacement” technology (Load Sensing + more constant pressure) will permit having the system in "stand by" position, so that the power consumption is reduced compared to a fixed rate system.The combination of this “flow system” variable with efficient management by PLC will make the system even more efficient. The management system using PLC will minimize the number of engines that will be started simultaneously. Minimizing the consumption of the electric motors driving the hydraulic pumps will reduce the ship fuel consumption, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. It has been predicted to reduce the need of fuel by up to 35%. The main technological objective is to design and develop a hydraulic system with “load- sensing” technology and constant power limiter to be firstly implemented on tuna boats.
Summary of project results
The main objectives of this project were to develop the first tuna fishing vessel equipped with load sensing variable flow and constant power technology, with an efficient hydraulic system for reducing fuel consumption. The company will continue to be a leader in fishing machinery and equipment construction.The project has been successfully developed and complete drawings for a whole hydraulic system have been created. It has been verified that the two main advantages of this new system are those initially estimated: - The implementation of this new technology increases the energy efficiency of the hydraulic system since only power is consumed to generate the flow and pressure necessary for the operation of the machines any time. - The second major advantage of the new system is that it eliminates the need for a complete stand-by system, as in fixed flow systems, since the new configuration allows for several pumps to work in parallel. This way, if one of the motor pump group is damaged, the system maintains can still maintain operation. A prototype to operate the Purse Winch has already been installed in a tuna fishing vessel with excellent results. It is a very appropriate technology in a current dynamics where energy efficiency is increasingly important. In this regard, it has to be mentioned that there is still no objective data on the fuel savings of this system compared to another with a fixed flow rate.Feed-back from vessel owner is highly positive and some other owners are interested in this new technology, so specific orders of the hydraulic system are expected soon.
Summary of bilateral results