Undergraduate Studies

A Seaspan Ferries barge and tugboat overlook the New Westminster waterfront (Photo Credit: UBC Applied Science / Andrew Wang, UBC Studios).

It’s a grey winter day in late November, and a team of researchers huddles together chatting on the wind-swept deck of a barge, moored on the edge of the Fraser River across from New Westminster’s scenic waterfront. They are finishing up two weeks of field research aboard Seaspan Ferries’ articulated tug and barge. Far from the heat of summer and the seasonal fires that loom over BC’s warmest months, they are nonetheless there to investigate an adjacent topic: how can we reduce the emissions driving climate change and affecting the air we breathe?

Seaspan Ferries has collaborated with UBC researchers over the last seven years, working with mechanical engineering Professor Patrick Kirchen on ways to reduce emissions from their vessels. Past work with Dr. Kirchen’s lab at the Clean Energy Research Centre has provided insights into how to curb methane emissions from ships powered by natural gas, and operational changes resulting from this study have reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking four cars off the road for one year – for each roundtrip sailing from Vancouver to Vancouver Island.

This new study involving experts from the University of British Columbia’s departments of Chemistry; Mechanical Engineering; Medicine; and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability is investigating the operational, climate, and health implications of using another alternative fuel in commercial shipping: biofuels. Supported by Transport Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, this new study is part of the Urban Freight Emissions Program, an interdisciplinary UBC research initiative that aims to provide data-based tools allowing industry, government, and communities to make effective decisions for decarbonizing marine, rail, and road freight transportation in BC.

But why biofuels and why winter?

“We’re hoping to get a deeper understanding of what it’s like to operate on biofuel during colder weather. This is going to allow us to optimize our vessel profile, and we’re looking to extend the period in time in which we run on biofuels into the colder weather,” says Josh Kuwica, a Project Manager with Seaspan Ferries working on their electrification and sustainable fuels projects.

Biofuels are an alternative fuel that can be used to replace conventional diesel without significantly modifying a vehicle’s engine, effectively lowering their carbon footprint. This makes them much easier for companies to adopt, rather than retrofitting or replacing an entire fleet of vehicles – a quality which could radically advance the quest to decarbonize freight vehicle emissions. But there is a catch; according to Kuwica, the cold causes biofuels to thicken and clog the engine filters, meaning Seaspan can only run their ships on biofuels for part of the year. “By understanding the temperature outside and what the temperature of the fuel is, we can determine the most optimal time to switch from our biofuels, back to the commercial diesel or possibly a blend.”

Because the use of biofuels in these kinds of ship engines hasn’t fully been studied, there are other unknowns the research team is trying to address as well. Professor Steven Rogak is an aerosols expert with UBC Mechanical Engineering who is working with UBC Chemistry professor Allan Bertram to try and determine what the invisible particles that make up the ship exhaust are made of, and where they’re coming from – the biofuels or something else.

“…We don’t even know how much of the aerosols coming out come from lubricating oil, from unburned fuel and from black carbon,” says Dr. Rogak  “So until we answer those kinds of questions, we can’t really say how changes in fuels and how changes in in operating conditions are going to affect things.”

Dr. Julia Zaks from UBC Chemistry and Dr. Steve Rogak, Dr. Anand Kumar and graduate students Nishan Sapkota, Cameron Varcoe from UBC Mechanical Engineering use specialized equipment to collect data on the composition of aerosol particles from biofuel exhaust. (UBC Applied Science / Andrew Wang, UBC Studios)

Collecting air-quality data aboard a tugboat

During the sea trials, Seaspan’s tugboat and barge replicate their normal journey transporting goods down the Fraser River towards the Georgia Straight. As they sail, a sample of the biofuels exhaust is carried from the engine to the research teams for analysis – an effort choreographed by Dr. Jeremy Rochussen, a research engineer working with Dr. Kirchen and the Manager of the Urban Freight Emissions Program at UBC.  Starting in the engine room, Drs. Kirchen and Rochussen measure the kinds of pollutants produced and the effects of ship operation and weather. Then, the exhaust sample travels out to the barge through a large tube where it makes two more stops: a uniquely outfitted aerosols analysis trailer and the Portable Laboratory for Understanding human-Made Emissions (a.k.a. the PLUME Van).

As the tugboat sails down the Fraser River, Dr. Rochussen and Dr. Kirchen from UBC’s Clean Energy Research Centre gather data on greenhouse gas emissions produced by using biofuels. (UBC Applied Science  / Andrew Wang, UBC Studios)

In the UBC Mobile Aerosol Characterization facility (UBC MAC) trailer, Dr. Rogak and Dr. Bertram’s teams of graduate students and staff researchers work together closely, using an array of instruments to analyze what the aerosol particles are made of and how they behave. To measure the particles, the groups use an aerosol mass spectrometer. With specialized training, the machine is operated by Dr. Julia Zaks, a research associate with Professor Allan Bertram’s group. Housed in the unique trailer developed and built by UBC Chemistry, the aerosol mass spectrometer can interpret information about the chemical composition of the particles to predict the effect these particles have on the climate.

“These tiny particles contribute significantly to poor air quality, cause adverse health effects, and contribute to climate change.” Dr. Zaks, explains. “We need to quantify how many of these particles are emitted from marine vessels and analyze their size and chemical composition to better predict their impact on air quality, human health, and the climate. To do this, we’ll combine the knowledge we learn from the chemistry of the particles with the knowledge of atmospheric chemistry.”

Next door in the PLUME Van, Associate Professor Naomi Zimmerman and her team look at what happens when human lung cells are exposed to these contaminants using a cellular exposure system emulating the air-liquid interface of the lung. The van then transports the cells to the Air Pollution Exposure Lab at Vancouver General Hospital, where Dr. Chris Carlsten’s team (UBC Medicine) runs cell toxicology tests 24 hours after the exposure to examine if the biofuel exhaust causes any cellular changes or damage to the cells. Dr. Zimmerman explains why real-world cellular exposure is so helpful for marine emissions:

“Doing cellular exposure studies on exhaust from engines of this size is extremely challenging to re-create in the lab. This collaboration presented a unique opportunity to do in-situ real-world cellular exposures to help ensure biofuel combustion doesn’t have any unintended consequences for human health. Assessing this under cold weather conditions is especially interesting, as we know that combustion of any fuel is affected by changing ambient conditions.”

In the PLUME Van, graduate student Yuetong Zhang checks on lung cells which have been exposed to biofuels exhaust, to be transported to the Air Pollution Exposure Lab at Vancouver General Hospital for analysis. (UBC Applied Science / Andrew Wang, UBC Studios)

“[Aerosols] are one of the most important contributors to climate change and human health effects of air pollution,” Dr. Rogak underscores the importance of looking at this data from an interdisciplinary, real-world perspective for industry and community partners to drive effective change.

Why is this collaboration uniquely beneficial?

To make this field research opportunity possible, the research groups and Seaspan crew members put in countless hours working together to set goals, plan, and execute the sea trials, which rely on coordination between decision makers, crew members, and lab members to pull off. But this isn’t just administrative necessity – it’s part of getting the full picture of what the data means.

“One of the nice things about these collaborations is the opportunity to work directly with the crews. These are the teams that work with the fuels, engage with the fuels and understand how the vessel operates and the constraints that are placed upon them. We often don’t see this from our lab-based studies, and so being able to work with them on a day-to-day basis –combine that with our research, we’re really getting a full picture of understanding behind these fuels.”

Dr. Patrick Kirchen explains how the value of working on field research in partnership with Seaspan Ferries goes beyond the data collection and the science itself, but also in expanding the reach and the impact that their findings can have. Not only is it a chance to train the next generation of experts – the graduate students who have been working diligently on deck and in the lab – but also the chance to share the data and any actionable recommendations with Seaspan Ferries, their crews, and their larger networks throughout the marine shipping industry.

“Part of this collaboration is allowing us to get a big-picture view of how fuels change the performance of the emissions, but also to find ways of communicating this to a diverse group of states and rights holders. Those might be operators, ship manufacturers, legislators, communities or even health authorities.”

The scope of this collaboration is ambitious, but the hope is that its impact could be even broader.