Analysis of the Pollution Level and Possible solutions

Abstract

The environmental problem in land activity has created a great alarm especially close to highly inhabited zones; for harbours the main problem consists in the contemporaneous presence of a number of ships releasing large amounts of noxious substances in the air and the water. New regulations and limits to these elements have been set up in order to limit the impact on human activities. This problem should be urgently faced in order to avoid very dangerous consequences in such critical zones. One of the ports closer to the centre of the town with a significant influence on its life, lies in Naples, in the core of the urban activities with thousands of people living and working nearby.
In this paper the case study of the port of Naples is developed with particular regard to the exhaust emissions from the cruise ships which frequently berth in Neapolitan bollards, keeping most of their engines on in order to produce the electric energy needed for the auxiliary services onboard. In fact, the contemporaneous presence of four or five cruise ships may create a very dangerous environment, especially for people living close to the harbour.
In the frame of a research program which involves the CNR Istituto Motori and the University of Naples “Federico II”, tests on the quality of the air were recently done; first results of this research are reported together with the analysis of the possible solutions to the problem. In this phase, the most important components of pollutants were analyzed: NOx and sO2.