Alfa Laval is pursuing improvements and options to make its PureSOx scrubber platform more flexible and optimized.
At the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre in Aalborg, Denmark, the platform is being adapted for the widest range of customer needs. According to the company toda[ds_preview]y PureSOx development continues, through both ongoing optimization and the introduction of new options.
As PureSOx has evolved, Alfa Laval’s knowledge and resources have been put to significant use. The technologies are found not only in the scrubber itself, but also in the patented separator technology of its water cleaning unit and in the heat exchangers used for cooling the circulation water. Additionally, PureSOx has played a central role in much of the work at the Test & Training Centre the company stated.
The scrubber at the centre has been used in developing the PureSOx platform, but also for solving individual customer challenges in exhaust gas cleaning. Designed for 1.5 MW, it can be pushed to its physical limits by the centre’s 2 MW engine, which would be unsafe and impractical on board.
Alfa Laval reduced the size of the U-design scrubber
Work at the Test & Training Centre and elsewhere has meant continuous improvement of the PureSOx platform, especially with regard to size and resource use the company explains. A significant size reduction for the U-design scrubber was announced only last year, and tests have been performed with many different filling elements and sprayer arrangements to find the lower possible water consumption. Minimizing pressure drop across the system, which reduces fuel consumption by the engine, is a further area of focus.
Likewise, new options are being introduced at a steady pace. »Recently we introduced an option for open-loop scrubbing that complies with the strict pH requirements of the US Vessel General Permit,« says Erik Haveman, Sales Director, Exhaust Gas Cleaning. »For cruise ships and other high-profile vessels, we have also released an Exhaust Gas Reheater option, which warms the exhaust gas plume to reduce the chance of it being visible.«
Combined with multiple operating arrangements, a choice of scrubber designs and the new Global, ECA and Flex compliance profiles, options like these would allow the platform to address the specific needs of most vessels on the market.
»As the 2020 global cap approaches, more ship owners and operators will be looking at scrubber solutions than ever before,« says Haveman.
PureSOx was launched in 2012 to let vessels meet SOx limits while continuing to use economical heavy fuel oil.
