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SAN PEDRO - Container terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles have said they will implement a program to install diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) on their cargo handling equipment.
 
The program - nearly two years in the making - calls for approximately 600 DOCs to be installed on the engines powering a variety of equipment, including yard tractors, side and top picks, forklifts and transtainers.

The DOCs were ordered and purchased by the Port of Los Angeles with individual terminals handling the registration and installation of the catalysts. The port will reimburse the terminals up to $100 to install each DOC.
 
When coupled with emulsified diesel - a blended fuel of water and chemical surfactants called Proformix - DOCs are verified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 20% and diesel particulate matter (PM) by 50%. This decrease in air emissions equates to 250 tons of NOx and 24 tons of PM disappearing from harbor air each year, said the CARB.
 
Port terminal operators began testing the use of Proformix more than a year ago, which has "significantly reduced air emissions on its own," said a spokesman for the port.  Soon after the data on emulsified fuel and DOCs were released, the port asked its customers to employ the two together.
 
Since that time, the port has been working closely with its terminal operators and three of the six container terminals are now using emulsified fuel in 100% of its terminal equipment. The port's goal is to retrofit all standard diesel-powered marine terminal equipment to use emulsified fuel.
 
Several Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) call for six terminal operators to use the fuel in tandem with the DOCs for five years, or within a 4200-hour "warranty period."

The inception of the program dates back to 2001, when the Port sought initial NOx and PM Reduction Program funding through the CARB State Mitigation Grant.
 
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SQAQMD) recently matched CARB's $1 million grant, earmarked for the Port's ongoing NOx and PM reduction efforts. A third of this funding will be used for future purchases of DOCs.

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