Alternative Fuels and Emission Control in Maritime Applications

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2026 | Viewed by 794

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: marine exhaust aftertreatment; alternative fuels for shipping; marine engine clean combustion; ship exhaust plume prediction; energy conversion and storage in marine systems; fuel reforming and decarbonization
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The maritime industry is a significant source of global greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, contributing to both climate change and local environmental degradation. As international regulations, such as the IMO’s decarbonization targets, become more stringent, the shift towards alternative fuels—such as hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol—has emerged as a critical strategy for reducing the sector's carbon footprint. However, the successful implementation of alternative fuels alone is not sufficient; advanced emission control technologies are equally crucial to address both traditional pollutants and the new emission challenges posed by these alternative fuels

This Special Issue, Alternative Fuels and Emission Control in Maritime Applications, aims to bring together state-of-the-art research on the use of alternative fuels in ships and on emission control technologies, addressing both traditional pollutants and the novel challenges associated with alternative fuel adoption.

Prof. Dr. Yuanqing Zhu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • alternative fuels
  • maritime emissions
  • greenhouse gas reduction
  • multi-pollutant control
  • aftertreatment technologies
  • zero-emission shipping
  • life cycle assessment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 6793 KB  
Article
Experimental Study on Onboard Hydrogen Production Performance from Methanol Reforming Based on Novel Spinel
by Yufei Sun, Qiuwan Shen, Shian Li and He Miao
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020188 - 16 Jan 2026
Viewed by 470
Abstract
The green transformation of the shipping industry urgently requires zero-carbon power, and hydrogen-powered ships such as hydrogen fuel cell ships face bottlenecks in in situ hydrogen production and storage and transportation. Methanol steam reforming (MSR) online hydrogen production is suitable for ship scenarios, [...] Read more.
The green transformation of the shipping industry urgently requires zero-carbon power, and hydrogen-powered ships such as hydrogen fuel cell ships face bottlenecks in in situ hydrogen production and storage and transportation. Methanol steam reforming (MSR) online hydrogen production is suitable for ship scenarios, reducing costs and increasing efficiency while helping achieve zero carbon throughout the entire lifecycle, which has important practical significance. The key technology for MSR technology is the performance of the catalyst. A series of Cu1−xMnxAl2O4 catalysts were successfully synthesized and applied for hydrogen production in this study. The catalyst structure was characterized using physicochemical techniques including XRD, SEM, and EDS. Hydrogen production performance was evaluated in a fixed-bed reactor under the following conditions: a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of 20 h−1, a water-to-methanol molar ratio of 3:1, and a reaction temperature range of 275 °C–350 °C. The results demonstrate that A-site Mn substitution significantly enhanced the catalytic performance. In addition, XRD analysis revealed that Mn incorporation effectively suppressed the formation of segregated CuO phases. However, excessive substitution (x is 0.9) led to the generation of an MnAl2O4 impurity phase. Finally, the Cu0.7Mn0.3Al2O4 catalyst achieved a methanol conversion of 68.336% at 325 °C, with a hydrogen production rate of 5.611 mmol/min/gcat, and maintained CO selectivity below 1%. The results demonstrate that the hydrogen production catalyst developed in this study is a promising material for meeting the requirements of online hydrogen sources for ships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Fuels and Emission Control in Maritime Applications)
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