1 Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants, University of Bonn , Venusbergweg 22, D-53115 Bonn , Germany.
2 Institute of Fluid Mechanics, University of Rostock , Albert-Einstein-Straße 2, D-18059 Rostock , Germany.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2019 Feb 11;377(2138):20180263. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0263.
To save energy and reduce environmental impacts, new technologies towards a development of a sustainable 'greener' economy are needed. The main opportunity to improve sustainability by reducing emissions is within the transport sector. More than 90% of all goods worldwide are transported by ships. Particularly maritime ships using heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil play a major role. The total fuel consumption of shipping in 2016 was about 250 m t (domestic ca. 50 m t, international shipping ca. 200 m t). The vast portion of the energy consumption of a ship is the need to overcome the drag between ship hull and water-depending on the shape of the vessel and its size up to 90% of total fuel consumption. This means reducing drag helps to save fuel and reduces carbon emissions as well as pollution considerably. Different techniques for drag reduction are known, e.g. the micro-bubble technique or the bulbous bow. We investigated a novel bioinspired technique since 2002: the application of biomimetic surfaces with long-term stable air layers on ship hulls, serving as a slip agent. This technology is based on the Salvinia Effect, allowing a permanent stabilization of air layers under water. In this case study, we analysed the possible savings, which also could be combined with modified micro-bubble technologies. We calculated, based on a selection of five ship types, representing 75% of the world fleet, that air-layer hull coatings could lead to estimated savings of 32.5 million tons of fuel (meaning 13.0% of the worldwide shipping fuel consumption), equal to 18.5 billion US$ and 130.0 million tons of CO per year. The positive impacts on global temperature and other greenhouse gases are calculated and could be a contributing factor in accomplishing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The study is a contribution to enhance our patchy knowledge concerning the potential economic and ecological benefit of bionics and biomimetic technologies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology'.
为了节约能源和减少环境影响，需要开发新技术，以实现可持续的“绿色”经济发展。通过减少排放来提高可持续性的主要机会在于运输部门。全球 90%以上的货物都是通过船舶运输的。特别是使用重质燃料油和船用柴油的海船，其作用尤为重要。2016 年，航运的总燃料消耗约为 2500 万公吨（国内约 500 万公吨，国际航运约 2000 万公吨）。船舶的大部分能源消耗是克服船体与水之间的阻力，这取决于船舶的形状和大小，高达总燃料消耗的 90%。这意味着减少阻力有助于节省燃料，同时大大减少碳排放和污染。减少阻力的技术有很多，例如微气泡技术或球鼻艏。自 2002 年以来，我们一直在研究一种新的仿生技术：在船体上应用具有长期稳定气层的仿生表面作为减阻剂。这项技术基于 Salvinia 效应，允许在水下稳定地保持气层。在这个案例研究中，我们分析了可能的节省，这也可以与改良的微气泡技术结合使用。我们基于代表全球船队 75%的五种船型进行了计算，得出的结论是，气层船体涂料可节省约 3250 万吨燃料（相当于全球航运燃料消耗的 13.0%），相当于 185 亿美元和每年 1300 万吨二氧化碳。还计算了对全球温度和其他温室气体的积极影响，这可能是实现联合国可持续发展目标和《联合国气候变化框架公约》巴黎协定的一个因素。这项研究有助于增加我们对仿生学和仿生技术潜在经济和生态效益的零碎知识。本文是主题为“绿色科学技术的仿生材料和表面”的一部分。
