Practice 01 / 05
Ships, trains, trucks. One airshed.
All three modes at a modern terminal run on internal combustion. Regulation handles the broad strokes; facility owners are increasingly expected to mitigate air impacts at the project level. These are the non-regulatory technologies that do the work.
The Short Version
Where the exhaust comes from decides how you cut it.
A containership hoteling at berth, a switcher idling in the yard, and a drayage truck at the gate are three different emissions problems. The tools below are matched to the source, not applied as a blanket.
The impacts run at three scales. Diesel particulate matter, especially fine PM10, hits local receptors first, and hits at-risk groups such as infants and the elderly hardest. NOx and SOx drive regional smog and acid rain. CO2 is global. A credible air program has to account for all three, starting with an honest inventory of what the facility actually emits.
Not every technology fits every operation. Cold ironing pencils out for containerships and passenger ships that draw heavy power at berth. It rarely does for auto carriers, whose short berth times make the retrofit hard to justify. We say so, because a mitigation plan built on the wrong tool is just paperwork.
-58%
NOx from GenSet switchers vs a conventional locomotive in the same duty
-80%
Particulate matter in the same GenSet comparison
95–99%
NOx, SOx, and PM removed from hoteling-ship exhaust by AMECS
~20%
Fuel savings from GenSet units over existing diesel switcher technology
Inside This Practice
Five points of attack.
01 · Marine Vessels
The hoteling problem at berth
A ship at berth runs its auxiliary engines the entire time, releasing pollutants close to cities. Ship type matters: a containership emits over fifteen times the CO2 and twelve times the SO2 of an auto carrier each year. Cold ironing (shore power) eliminates at-berth NOx, SOx, CO, VOC, and diesel PM, but the berth and vessel retrofits are expensive and years from widespread adoption.
Cheaper interventions exist now. A fuel slide valve is a simple engine retrofit that cuts NOx about 30 percent and PM about 25 percent while reducing fuel burn. Switching to 0.2 percent sulfur fuel at berth (residual fuel runs about 2.7 percent) sharply cuts SOx and PM, and many ports already endorse it.
02 · Rail
Switchers that sleep instead of idle
Line-haul fuel efficiency has improved about 80 percent in a quarter century. The overlooked source is the yard, where switching locomotives idle for long stretches between moves. GenSet units draw power from three independent 700 HP Cummins diesel engines under smart-chip control, starting as fast as a truck engine and engaging only the power the moment requires.
Against a conventional switcher in the same application: 58 percent less NOx, 80 percent less PM, 94 percent less HC, 37 percent less CO, and roughly 20 percent fuel savings. Proven at the Honda Port-of-Entry, Port of Richmond.
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02 · Rail
Inside a GenSet switcher: three engines, staged power, no wasted idle
The hardware
Three independent 700 HP Cummins diesel engines replace one large prime mover, under smart-chip control. Each engine starts as fast as a truck engine, so power is engaged only when the work requires it.
The idle management
When demand drops, the first engine shuts down after one minute of inactivity, the second after five minutes, and the third enters sleep mode after fifteen. The locomotive never burns three engines’ worth of fuel to wait.
The measured results
Against a conventional switcher in the same application: 58 percent less NOx, 80 percent less PM, 94 percent less HC, 37 percent less CO, and roughly 20 percent fuel savings over existing diesel switcher technology.
Where it has run
The Honda Port-of-Entry at the Port of Richmond adopted GenSet switching under a Clean Air Action Plan targeting a 50 percent PM reduction by 2020 and NOx at least 5 percent below the baseline estimate.
03 · Trucking
Idle limits and right-sized power
Trucks account for a significant share of hydrocarbon combustion at most facilities, and some idling is inevitable. The practical levers: set a maximum idle duration, run cleaner-burning biodiesel in diesel vehicles, and use lower-sulfur on-road diesel in marine terminal equipment.
Some trucks run their main engine just to power hydraulic lifts and other non-drivetrain equipment. Retrofitting smaller, more efficient auxiliary power units onto older trucks carries that load without running the drive engine at all.
04 · Capture & Treatment
AMECS and ALECS: treating exhaust at the stack
The Advanced Maritime Emissions Control System (AMECS) places a bonnet over a hoteling ship’s stack, ducts the exhaust to a dock or barge mounted treatment unit, and removes 95 to 99 percent of the NOx, SOx, and PM. Capacities scale to ship size, in both on-wharf and barge-based configurations usable at anchorage.
The Advanced Locomotive Emission Control System (ALECS) applies the same principle to rail: an articulated bonnet captures exhaust during idling or maintenance and delivers it to ground-based equipment, a sodium hydroxide wash for SO2, cloud-chamber scrubbing for PM, and selective catalytic reduction for NOx. It handles flows from roughly 2,000 scfm (a locomotive at idle) up to 12,000 scfm (full power at notch 8).
05 · Planning
Clean Air Action Plans: inventory first, promises second
A Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) starts by measuring existing emissions sources, then identifies reduction strategies and weighs each against financial resources, operational requirements, regulatory demands, and technical feasibility. The format has become standard for port authorities, where multiple modes and hoteling vessels compound the problem.
At the Port of Richmond, the Honda Port-of-Entry CAAP covered shipping, trucking, rail, and vehicle handling. Its stated targets: eliminate 50 percent of PM emissions by 2020 and hold NOx at least 5 percent below the baseline project estimate, with a public scorecard tracking progress.
Proven In The Field
Where this practice has shipped.
Air Quality
GenSet Switching Locomotives
Port of Richmond. Three 700 HP engines under smart-chip control at the Honda Port-of-Entry, with measured NOx, PM, and fuel results.
Read the case study →
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All Pillars
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Water Systems, Energy Efficiency, Terminal Design, and Innovation & Resilience. Each pillar collects the technologies that shape a terminal’s footprint.
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