Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2021) 28:32695–32707

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12791-3

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Harnessing wind energy on merchant ships: case study Flettner

rotors onboard bulk carriers
Ibrahim S. Seddiek 1 & Nader R. Ammar 2,3

Received: 3 June 2020 / Accepted: 31 January 2021 / Published online: 25 February 2021
# The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
Shipping faces challenges of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels to align with the international regulations of ship emissions
reduction. The maritime industry is in urgent need of searching about alternative energy sources for ships. This paper highlights
the applicability of harnessing wind power for ships. Flettner rotors as a clean propulsion technology for commercial ships are
introduced. As a case study, one of the bulk carrier ships operating between Damietta port in Egypt and Dunkirk port in France
has been investigated. The results showed the high influence of the interaction between ship course and wind speed and direction
on the net output power of Flettner rotors. The average net output power for each rotor will be 384 kW/h. Economically, the
results reveal that the use of Flettner rotors will contribute to considerable savings, up to 22.28% of the annual ship’s fuel
consumption. The pay-back period of the proposed concept will be 6 years with a considerable value of levelized cost of energy.
Environmentally, NOx and CO2 emissions will be reduced by 270.4 and 9272 ton/year with cost-effectiveness of $1912 and
$55.8/ton, respectively, at annual interest rate of 10%.

Keywords Wind energy . Flettner rotor . IMO . Ship emission reduction . Cost-effectiveness

Introduction large quantities of pollutants into the air, principally in the

form of nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and
More than 90% of the international trade is transported by sulfur oxide (SOx), which have been steadily expanding and
ships (Jiang et al. 2018; Pasha et al. 2020). In year 2019, about affect human health (Ammar and Seddiek 2018, 2020;
92,295 ships of 1.98 million deadweight shared in the mari- Seddiek 2016). Latest statistics revealed that maritime trans-
time field activities, and more than 60,000 ships transported port is responsible for producing 3% of the world’s total
billions of tons of cargo worldwide (UNCTAD 2019). On the greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming
other hand, this growth contributed significantly to increasing and extreme weather effects (Abdelkhalek et al. 2014;
the amount of emissions from ships. Annually, vessels emit Bouman et al. 2017; Sadek and Elgohary 2020; Seddiek
2017; UNCTAD 2019).
In continuous steps, the International Maritime
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Organization (IMO) seeks to reduce the adverse effect of ship
emissions by issuing the relative regulations within Annex VI
* Ibrahim S. Seddiek
[email protected]
of Marine Pollution Convention 78 (Ammar 2018, 2019a;
Ammar and Seddiek 2017; Halff et al. 2018; IMO 2018,
Nader R. Ammar 2019). In addition to the international legislations, IMO pur-
[email protected] sues to urge those interested in the shipping industry to reach
zero emissions ship either through the use of alternative fuels
1
Department of Marine Engineering Technology, College of Maritime or a clean source of energy onboard ships (Ammar 2019b;
Transport & Technology, Arab Academy for Science, Technology &
Maritime Transport, Alexandria 1029, Egypt
Joung et al. 2020; Scott et al. 2017). Regarding alternative
2
fuels, all practical studies and researches proved that LNG
Department of Marine Engineering, Faculty of Maritime Studies,
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
can be considered an alternative and possible solution to re-
3
place conventional fuels in maritime shipping as it shows the
Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21544, Egypt
lowest cost compared with the other alternative technologies
32696 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707

(Elgohary et al. 2014; Mohseni et al. 2019). With reference to current attacks a rotating cylinder, it retards the air on one
new power sources, many research studies have been exam- direction and accelerates it on the opposite direction. High-
ining the applicability of using fuel cells, solar panels, and and low-pressure regions will be formed around the rotating
wind turbines to be a source of energy onboard ships cylinder (Badalamenti and Prince 2008; Searcy 2017; Seifert
(Clodic et al. 2018; Ghenai et al. 2019; Welaya et al. 2011; 2012; Zdravkovich 1997). As a result of this pressure differ-
Welaya et al. 2013) . ence, lift and drag forces will be developed in the perpendic-
Wind energy can be considered as an attractive option for ular and the parallel directions of the wind flow, respectively,
marine applications. It is a renewable source and can be used as shown in Fig. 1b.
in combination with low carbon fuels (Crist 2009; Parker The produced lift and drag forces by the Magnus effect are
2013; Traut et al. 2014). The focus of the current paper is to a supporting mean for ship propulsion if a rotating cylinder is
evaluate the potential for Flettner rotor-powered ships. The properly mounted onboard the ship. The rotation of the cylin-
literature review addresses the use of Flettner rotors in marine der is controlled by an electric motor mounted onboard the
applications from the viewpoints of practical applications and ship. The power consumed by the motor and the thrust pro-
researches. It was shown by De Marco et al. (2016) that Anton duced from the Flettner rotor will regulate the amount of the
Flettner, in 1920, was the first engineer who studied the effec- main engine power that can be replaced. The produced thrust
tiveness of using Flettner rotors as ship propulsion system. can be calculated as the summation of the lift and drag forces
Buckau ship is considered the first ship that enrolled this sys- in the ship direction (Ballini et al. 2017; Bentin et al. 2016;
tem in 1924 as a retrofit ship. Two years later, M/V Barbara Bordogna et al. 2020; Bordogna et al. 2019; De Marco et al.
became the first new build ship equipped by Flettner rotors 2016; Kray et al. 2012; Mittal and Kumar 2003; Traut et al.
(Seifert 2012). After a long time, in year 2010, Enercon, a 2014).
wind energy company, launched a Flettner-powered cargo
ship named E-Ship 1. Recently, two 30-m-tall rotor sails have
been installed on a Maersk Tankers vessel (Norsepower Flettner rotor modeling
2015). Arief et al. (2018), Lele and Rao (2017), Searcy
(2017), Seifert (2012), Talluri et al. (2018), and Traut et al. In this section, a simple technical, environmental, and eco-
(2014) analyzed and evaluated the potential for implementing nomic modeling is presented. The modeling is divided in
Flettner rotor systems for different ship types. As a step to- two subsections. The first section will present the technical
ward studying the applicability of the use of Flettner rotors in model of the Flettner rotor. However, the second part illus-
marine application, the present paper aims to analyze the trates the economic and environmental issues in case of using
Flettner rotor performance and to study the effect of different Flettner rotor onboard ships.
parameters on the turbine’s net output power. These parame-
ters include the effect of wind characteristics, ship speed, lift
Technical modeling
coefficient, motor speed, and rotation coefficient. In addition,
a bulk carrier ship is investigated as a case study. An economic
For a moving vessel with a speed of (Vs), the true wind speed
and environmental analysis for the case study is performed to
and direction (Vt, γ) will affect the Flettner rotor performance.
evaluate the economic feasibility of Flettner rotors, levelized
This is because the changes in true wind direction to a moving
cost of energy, and their effectiveness in reducing ship
vessel will result in a change in apparent wind speed (Va).
emissions.
Consequently, the apparent wind speed will affect Flettner
rotor to generate the thrust in ship direction. Figure 2 illus-
trates the angles between ship and wind velocities as well as
Flettner rotors’ principles and fundamentals
two coordinate systems. The (Xh, Yh, Zh) coordinate system is
used for the vessel hull, while (Xf, Yf, Zf) is introduced for the
In order to study the technical, environmental, and economic
course through the ocean.
effects of using Flettner rotors onboard ships, the theoretical
The apparent wind speed (Va) can be calculated as a func-
operation of these systems should be firstly presented. The
tion of the vessel speed (Vs) and the true wind speed (Vt), as
main principle for the operation of Flettner rotors is the
expressed in Eq. (1), assuming very small drift angle. In ad-
Magnus effect as shown in Fig. 1a (Lele and Rao 2017;
dition, its direction can be determined using Eq. (2):
Pearson 2014). It was first described by Heinrich Gustav
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Magnus in 1953 (Lele and Rao 2017; Talluri et al. 2018).
V a ¼ V 2t þ V 2s −2V t V s cosγ ð1Þ
The Magnus effect correlates with the velocity and pressure
 2 2 2
of a moving fluid (Gupta et al. 2017; Kray et al. 2014; Pezzotti V t −V a −V s
et al. 2020). As the pressure of a moving fluid decreases, its β ¼ cos−1 ð2Þ
−2V a V s
velocity will be increased and vice versa. When induced wind
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707 32697

Fig. 1 Magnus effect (a) and

schematic of the resulting lift and
drag forces onboard a ship (b)

(a) (b)

The rotational speed of the Flettner rotor has a great influ- where ρa is the air density, Ar is the surface area of the rotor,
ence on the produced power. The rotors are assumed to be Re is the Reynolds number. Re can be calculated using Eq. (5):
structurally connected to the ship hull. The rotation coefficient
ρA :C rot :V a :LRe
(Crot) is the ratio between the rotor rotational speed (Urot) and Re ¼ ð5Þ
μ
the apparent wind speed as expressed in Eq. (3):

U rot ¼ C rot  V a ð3Þ where LRe is the characteristic length of rotor, and μ is the
air dynamic viscosity.
The flat plate boundary layer theory can be used to calcu- To determine the effective power in ship direction (Ps) and
late the resistive force and the power required to overcome the then the net output power of the Flettner rotor (Pnet), the lift
skin friction of Flettner rotor system. Schlichting’s formula and drag forces are resolved. Ps and Pnet can be calculated
can be used to calculate the skin friction coefficient as a func- considering the ship propulsion efficiency η as expressed in
tion of Reynolds number. The power needed to turn the rotor Eqs. 6 and 7 (Lele and Rao 2017):
(Pcon) and to overcome the friction force can be calculated  
ρA  V 2a
using Eq. (4). It can be noted that this is an approximate Ps ¼ ðC L  sinβ−C D  cosβ Þ   A  V s ð6Þ
assessment and additional aspects, as bearing roughness can 2
also influence the required power: Pnet ¼ ðPs −Pcon Þ  η ð7Þ
" ! #
0:455 1700 U 2rot where CL is the lift coefficient, CD is the drag coefficient,
Pcon ¼ 2:58
−  ρa   Ar  U rot ð4Þ
ðlog ðReÞÞ Re 2 and A is the maximum wind-projected area of the Flettner
rotor.

Fig. 2. Ship and wind velocity angles

32698 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707

The lift and drag coefficients for each Flettner rotor can be tests are 0.25 and 210°, respectively, in the range of 1.0 ≤ SR ≤
calculated based on the numerical modeling as expressed in 4.0.
Eqs. 8 and 9:
 k Environmental and economic modeling
4 4 3
j de
C L ¼ ∑ ∑ ∑ aijk SR AR i
ð8Þ
i¼1 j¼1 k¼1 d To evaluate the environmental benefits in case of using
Flettner rotors, the annual ship fuel saving (AFSFR) is calcu-
lated using Eq. 14. It depends on the saved propulsion power
 k during the trip (PFR) in kW, specific fuel consumption of the
4 4 3 de
C D ¼ ∑ ∑ ∑ bijk SRi AR j ð9Þ main diesel engine (SFCME) in kg/kWh, the sailing hours per
i¼1 j¼1 k¼1 d
year (H), and number of Flettner rotors (NFR).
where SR and AR are the spin and the aspect ratio of i¼n
Flettner rotor. (aijk) and (bijk) are coefficients related to the AFS FR ¼ ∑ N FR  PFR  SFCF ME  H ð14Þ
i¼1
geometrical and functional operations of Flettner rotors.
Their values based on the fit procedure for the numerical re- The annual reduction in emissions due to using Flettner
sults, as presented in De Marco et al. (2016). de/d is the large rotors (AERFRS) can be calculated using Eq. 15 (Ammar
end plate and Flettner rotor diameter ratio. Equations 8 and 9 2018; Ammar and Seddiek 2017, 2018, 2020):
are valid for the following ranges: 1.0 ≤ de/d ≤ 3.0, 1.0 ≤ SR ≤
3.0, and 2.0 ≤ AR ≤ 8.0. i¼n
AERFR ¼ ∑ N FR  PFR :F e  H ð15Þ
The effect of the interaction between Flettner rotors on the i¼1
flow field includes potential and viscous parts. The viscous
section impact appears as wake and turbulence produced by where Fe is the emission factors for the engine in g/kWh.
flow separation and vortices. The circulation induced changes These factors for slow speed marine diesel engine operated
in the apparent wind speed and direction for each Flettner with heavy fuel oil are 18.1, 10.29, 1.4, 620.62, 0.6, and 1.42
rotor. The analytical solution for the potential flow effects in g/kWh corresponding to NOx, SOx, CO, CO2, HC, and PM
the x-y plane for a group of Flettner rotors is presented by emissions, respectively (IMO 2018, 2019).
Garzón and Figueroa (2017). The two components of the in- From an economic point of view, the annual Flettner tur-
duced flow for each Flettner rotor in the X and Y directions, Vx bines cost (AFTC) will depend mainly on the initial, installa-
and Vy, can be calculated using Eqs. 10 and 11, respectively tion, operation, and maintenance cost and could be estimated
(Tillig and Ringsberg 2020): as shown in Eq. (16):
" #
V ind:  r   y  ð1 þ iÞn y¼u
V x ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi cos arctan ð10Þ AFTC ¼ N FR  CC þ ∑ C y Dy
x 2 þ y2 x ð1 þ iÞn −1 y¼1

V ind:  r   y   
V y ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi sin arctan ð11Þ þ Pcon :SFC AE  F c  10−3 þ C O&M  N FR
x 2 þ y2 x
H ð16Þ
where r is the Flettner rotor radius, and Vind. is the induced
velocity at each Flettner rotor. Vind. can be calculated as a where i is interest rate, n is the expected ship’s working
function of the rotor circulation Ω. The circulation can be year after installation of turbines, CC is the initial cost of one
calculated using known lift coefficients (CL) using Kutta- rotor in USD per unit, CyDy is the installation cost of one rotor
Joukowsky formula or from model tests (Abbot and Von in USD, Pcos is the power consumed for Flettner rotor in kW
Doenhoff 1959; Bordogna et al. 2020). The relation between for one rotor, SFCAE is diesel generator–specific fuel con-
Vind., Ω, and, CL is given in Eqs. 12 and 13 (Houghton et al. sumption in kg per kW, Fc is fuel cost in USD per ton, and
2017; Swanson 1961): CO&M is the maintenance and operation cost in USD per hour.
On the other hand, the optimistic effect of Flettner turbines
Ω ¼ 2 π r V ind: ð12Þ appears in the form of annual saving cost (AFTSC), which
    may be determined as follows:
Ω Rc sinðγ Þ Ω 2
C L ¼ ð1−Rc Þ þ ð13Þ
rV a 2π rV a AFTSC ¼ PFR  N FR  SFC ME  F c  ð1  pÞn  H  10−3
ð17Þ
where, Rc presents the ratio between the Flettner rotor ra-
dius (r) and the distance to the external vortex and (γ) is the where, p is the expected increasing or reducing percent of
vortex direction. The values of Rc and γ according to model fuel cost. Moreover, it preferred to estimate the levelized cost
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707 32699

of energy (LCOE) as an indication of importance of applying Table 1 Main technical data for the case study ship
the proposed concept realistically. This parameter is widely Vessel name Wadi Alkarm
used, and it was presented by the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA), which formulated it to be expressed IMO number 9460760
as follows (Aldersey-Williams and Rubert 2019): Length 229 m
Breadth 32 m
It þ M t þ Ft
∑xt¼1 Draft 14.46 m
ð1 þ r Þt
LCOE ¼ ð18Þ Gross tonnage 43,736 MT
Et
∑xt¼1 Service speed, knots 13.5
ð1 þ r Þt Main engine type MAN B&W
Number of cylinders 7S50MC-C(MK VII)
where x is the number of years of the investment period, t is
NCR (continuous running) 13,545 BHP X 123 RPM
one of the years during period x, It is capital expenditures costs
Diesel generators 3 × 625 kW at 1200 RPM
(CAPEX) in year (t), Mt is operation and maintenance ex-
penses costs (OPEX) in year (t), Ft is the fuel cost in year Number of trips per year 10
(t). Et is the number of Megawatt hours generated by the
Flettner rotors during year t, and r is the discount rate.
It is important to combine the environmental benefits that Figure 4 illustrates the proposed locations of four Flettner
can be achieved through the application of Flettner turbines rotors on the ship’s main deck. The rotors will be distributed
technique onboard ships and the costs involved in this appli- along the ship length, specifically at port and starboard of
cation. To calculate the cost-effectiveness (CEem) in dollars hatches number 2 and 4. The rotors will be installed in the
per ton, the annual costs of the project are divided by the way that lets free moving for crew to carry out the necessary
annual quantity of emission reduced as a result of this propos- operations and maintenance activities on the main deck, and it
al, as follows (Ammar 2019b; Ammar and Seddiek 2017, will not hinder the loading and unloading of the cargo. In
2018): terms of the possibility of installation, the bulk carrier ships
ðACV−ASV Þ are considered one of the most suitable ships for installing this
CEem ¼ ð19Þ type of turbines, as there are no winches on the surface where
ERq
the goods are loading and unloaded, whether by external
where ACV is the annual cost value of the proposed Flettner winches or by belts.
rotors ($/year), ASV is the annual fuel saving ($/year), and ERq The selected Flettner rotor model to be installed onboard
is the annual emission reduction for each species of exhaust the case study is the Norsepower rotor (Norsepower 2018).
gases in ton/year. The rotors are installed onboard the ship on foundation with a
bolt connection and height of 2.5 m. The rotor height and
diameter are 24 m and 4 m, respectively. The total weight of
the rotor including the foundation is 34 tons. The supported
Case study tower for the rotor is a cylindrical steel structure. The variable
rotor speed changes from 0 to 225 rpm with 90 kW electric
Wadi Alkarm (IMO: 9460760) is a bulk carrier ship that was motor drive. The operational wind speed range for the rotor
built in 2011. The ship is registered in Alexandria port with starts from 0 to 25 m/s with a survival wind speed of 70 m/s
registry number of 3633 under the Egyptian flag. The princi- and a maximum continuous thrust of 175 kN.
pal dimensions of the ship length, breadth, and draft are 229 The following assumptions are made for simplicity regard-
m, 32 m, and 14.46 m, respectively. The dead weight of the ing ship route, ship stability, and wind speed and direction.
ship is 80,533 MT with a total gross tonnage of 43,736 MT. The investigated ship is assumed to travel on a fixed route at
The transported cargo includes coal, iron, ore, and grain with constant speed from Damietta port to Dunkirk port. The in-
Suez Canal gross and net tonnages of 45,016 MT and 40,414 stallation of the Flettner rotors will not have an effective im-
MT, respectively. The main technical data for the case study pact on ship stability and displacement. The initial calcula-
can be summarized in Table 1 (FleetMon 2020; Marine tions for the Flettner rotor technical results are performed at
Traffic 2020). ship speed of 13.5 knots, during cruise in the open sea, over
M/V Wadi-Alkaram sails in a route from Damietta port in true wind angles from 0° to 360°. Both ship drift angle and
Egypt to Dunkirk port in France. Figure 3 shows the ship bearing friction are neglected. The ship propulsion system
directions that changed at Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain, efficiency is assumed to be 60% (Lele and Rao 2017; Tillig
and Portugal. With average speed of 13 knots, the ship takes and Ringsberg 2020; Traut et al. 2014). The values for the air
about 13 to 15 days for one route. density and dynamic viscosity are assumed 1.225 kg/m3 and
32700 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707

Fig. 3 Ship’s route and passing points

1.789×10−5 N-m/s2, respectively (Cimbala and Çengel 2013; addition, the environmental and economic effects of using
Nakayama and Boucher 1998a). Schlichting’s equation is Flettner rotor onboard the case study are discussed.
used for calculating friction coefficient (Munson et al. 2012;
Nakayama and Boucher 1998b). The data for wind speed and Technical and environmental results
direction were based on the meteoblue climate statistics
(Meteoblue 2020). It is important to include the aerodynamic interaction effects
among different Flettner rotors when studying their perfor-
mance onboard a ship. The potential part of this interaction
Results and discussion is dominating as the apparent wind speeds and directions are
changed according to the induced circulation (Tillig and
In this section, the technical, environmental, and economic Ringsberg 2020). The apparent wind speed and direction at
results for using Flettner rotor onboard the selected case study each rotor is highly affected by the position and the circulation
are presented. The results imply the effect of wind speed var- of the other rotors. Therefore, the lift and drag coefficients, as
iation, ship’s speed, lift coefficient, motor speed, and rotation well as the optimum rpm, should be calculated according to
coefficient on the net output power of Flettner rotors. In the characteristics of the experienced wind speed and

Fig. 4 Flettner rotors locations

onboard the case study
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707 32701

Fig. 5 The apparent wind speeds and directions for the four rotors at ship speed of 13.5 knots, Vt=6.5 m/s, and γ=225°

directions. The wind speeds and angles agree with these prac- and height are 4 m and 24 m, respectively. These dimensions
tices by sail boats at various locations in a fleet (Bethwaite are consistent with the ship taken into consideration. The cal-
2013). The optimum rpm for each rotor is calculated accord- culations are performed at ship speed of 13.5 knots, according
ing to wind speed, wind direction, and the induced velocity at to the wind characteristics of the route for the case study. The
each rotor, and the preferred spin ratio ranges from 1.0 to 3.0 aim of these considerations is a rough evaluation of the poten-
for marine applications (De Marco et al. 2016). To show the tiality of the Flettner rotors as a marine propulsion device. It
interaction effects of the installed four Flettner rotors, the in- can be noticed that the forward Flettner rotors 1 and 2 benefit
duced flow field for the case study, at Vs = 13.5 knots and Vt = from the interaction, while the aft rotors 3 and 4 suffer from it.
6.5 m/s, is illustrated in Fig. 5. The induced flow is calculated In addition, the side force produced from each Flettner rotor is
using MATLAB program, according to Eqs. 10–13, at true augmented as a result of flow interactions.
wind angle of 225° (Va = 12m/s, β = 158°). The longitudinal The net output power of each Flettner rotor with and with-
and transverse distances between rotors are 65 m and 25 m, out aerodynamic interaction, organized according to Fig. 5,
respectively. In addition, the apparent wind speeds and direc- can be presented in a polar plot as shown in Fig. 7. It explains
tions at each rotor are shown in Fig. 5, considering the differ- the variation rotor’s net power output because of change of the
ent interaction among the four rotors. true wind speed from 5 to 25 m/s. The other variables includ-
Among the important parameters that define Flettner rotor ing lift and drag coefficients change for each rotor according
performance are the lift and drag coefficients which can be to its circulation and spin ratio. It can be noticed that the rotor
calculated using Eqs. 8 and 9. They determine the lift and drag power consumption is increased as the wind velocity in-
forces generated and consequently the system effective forces creases. The net output is positive as the thrust generated is
in ship direction and perpendicular to it. Figure 6 shows the higher than the resistive force. The net output power depends
effective forces in ship direction for the four Flettner rotors, on the wind characteristics and ship speed. Figure 7 a and b
organized according to Fig. 5, considering the aerodynamic show the effect of reducing ship speed from 13.5 knots to 10
effects with and without interaction. The effective force values knots on the net output power at different wind characteristics.
are calculated at optimum rpm for each rotor whose diameter The results are identical for the positive and negative angles

Fig. 6 Effective force in ship

direction from the four Flettner
rotors with and without
interaction at ship speed of 13.5
knots
32702 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707

Fig. 7 Flettner rotor net power

variation with true wind
characteristics and ship speeds of
13.5 knots (a) and 10 knots (b)

(a) (b)

because of the symmetric characteristics of the net output characteristics all over the year. The highest annual fuel sav-
power. The highest values of the net out power for the selected ing, from Fig. 9, is 3528 ton/year achieved in January. On the
Flettner rotor can be obtained at true wind speeds higher than other hand, the lowest annual fuel saving will be 223 ton
22 m/s over ranges of wind angles from 105 to 135 degrees corresponding to October wind characteristic data. The aver-
and from 225 to 255 degrees. The maximum net output pow- age net output power for the ship route all over the year based
er, shown in Fig. 7, is reduced from 704 to 437.5 kW at true on wind speed, direction, and ship course is 1537 kW with an
wind directions of 120° and 240° when the ship speed is average annual fuel saving of 1693 ton/year for the used four
reduced from 13.5 to 10 knots. rotors. Finally, using four Flettner rotors will lead to saving in
The speed of the rotor determines the required power for its ship fuel consumptions by 22.28%.
operation which affects the net output power of the Flettner From the calculated values of the annual fuel saving due to
rotor. Figure 8 shows the effect of coefficient of Flettner rotor using Flettner rotors, the annual emission reduction can be
rotation, organized according to Fig. 5, on the net output pow- estimated. Figure 10 shows the values of the reduced NOx,
er for the four rotors considering the aerodynamic interaction SOx, CO, CO2, and HC at true wind angles from 0° to 360°
among them. The figure is drawn at an average rpm of 80 for and ship speed of 13.5 knots. These values are calculated for
the four rotors considering wind speed, wind direction, the the four Flettner rotors, according to the wind characteristics
induced velocity at each rotor, and different spin ratio for each of the route for the case study. The highest emission reduction
rotor. As the coefficient of rotation increases, the net output can be achieved at true wind angles of 120° and 240°. This is
power will be reduced due to the increased power required for due to the increased rotor’s lift force and the net output power.
rotor rotation. In contrast, the net output power is increased at In contrast, the lowest reduction values will be at wind angles
low rotational coefficient values. of 0° and 360°.
To evaluate the environmental benefits of the Flettner ro- The actual amount of reduced emissions due to using the
tors, the annul fuel saving is calculated based on the saved Flettner rotor onboard the selected case study, based on the
propulsion power. Using wind data available in the meteoblue ship route from Damietta to Dunkirk ports, is shown in Fig.
climate data (Meteoblue 2020), the total annual fuel saving, 11. The higher the value of emission reduction, the more en-
from the four rotors, can be calculated as shown in Fig. 9. It vironmental benefits will be gained. The highest annual emis-
shows the annual fuel saving based on the ship route and wind sion reduction rate is 9272 ton/year for reducing CO2

Fig. 8 Coefficient of rotation

effect on the Flettner rotors net
power
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707 32703

Fig. 9 Average annual fuel

saving based on ship route and
true wind speed and direction

Fig. 10 Emission reduction due

to using Flettner rotor model at
different wind angles

Fig. 11 Environmental benefits

due to using four Flettner rotor
models onboard the case study at
ship speed of 13.5 knots
32704 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707

emissions. This is because of the high percent of carbon in the $399,978, $517,212, and $650,463 per year, assuming annual
used heavy fuel oil used. The second-high reduced emission interest rates of 5%, 10%, and 15%, respectively.
species is the NOx emissions due to the high nitrogen percent Moreover, Fig. 12b presents the value of ship’s annual
in the air during burning of marine fuel in the diesel engine of saving cost due to installation of Flettner turbines onboard,
the ship. which is achieved because of reducing the annual ship’s fuel
consumption, at different scenarios of fuel price trends. The
figure implies the possibility of achieving variable annual sav-
Economic results ing cost, which could reach to $1.30 and $3.29 million by the
end of the determined project’s lifetime, at 5% and 10% in-
Using the data collected about M/V Wadi Alkarm regarding crement percentages, respectively. However, this value would
sailing periods, and fuel prices, Fig.12a presents various sce- account only $175,000 if the fuel price showed a dramatic
narios for the annual CAPEX cost in case of applying the pro- annual decrease by 5%. On the other side, Fig. 13 presents
posed system onboard the ship. Cases I, II, and III show the the net saving value (NSV) at different economic scenarios for
variation of the annual Flettner turbine cost (AFTC) with the the proposed concept. Case (b) presents NSV for the selected
expected ship’s working years, after installation of the rotors case study at the current fuel price, case (a) presents NSV with
onboard, at different interest values. The number of working an expectation of fuel price increment by 10%; however, case
years plays a role in reaching the minimum value of annual (c) presents NSV with an expectation of fuel price reduction
capital cost. The AFTC value for the present study will be about by 5%.

Fig. 12 a Flettner rotors annual

capital cos. b Ship’s annual
saving cost

(a) (b)

Fig. 13 Ship’s net saving value

and payback period
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707 32705

From Fig. 13, the proposed concept will be able to sup- The figure shows that an accordance of decreasing the ship
port the ship’s operating costs after 6 and 8 working years sailing period by 20% will increase the value of LCOE by
for case (a) and case (b), respectively. On the other hand, 26%. This implies that applying the renewable energy on-
with the condition of case (c), the project will be econom- board ships is sensible by the surrounding international events
ically useless regardless of the ship’s age. With reference to just as it is happening now with COVID-19.
LCOE, Fig. 14 shows the tendency of this value at different Figure 15 shows the cost-effectiveness in case of applying
conditions. Case I presents the value of LCOE for the case Flettner turbines for the selected ship. Depending on the cur-
study with $0.05/kWh after 8 years of operation. Case II rent prices of marine fuel oils, the used heavy fuel oil price
presents the effect of occurrence of an evolution in the tur- onboard the selected ship is $300/ton (Bunkerworld 2020).
bine industry, which in turn will affect the cost of Consequently, the cost-effectiveness values for NOx and
manufacturing and the accompanying reduction in the an- CO2 emissions are 1912 and $55.78/ton, respectively, at an
nual cost of the project. The current cost for one of the annual interest rate of 10%.
proposed Flettner rotors is $750,000 (GL-MEEP 2019). It The Flettner rotor cost-effectiveness values agree with the
can be noticed that a reduction in Flettner turbine cost by same values that could be achieved from other technologies
one third will lead to a reduction in LCOE by 30%. for the identical target (Ammar 2018; Ammar and Seddiek
However, case III presents the effect of decreasing the an- 2017). These results can be considered as a reasonable out-
nual ship’s sailing days, which may have occurred due to the come in the way of applying more attractive renewable energy
impact of a slowdown in the growth of the global economy. sources onboard ships.

Fig. 14 Levelized cost of energy

vs ship’s working years at
different scenarios

Fig. 15 Annual emission-

reduction cost-effectiveness for
Flettner rotors
32706 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:32695–32707

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