In 2012 Envitech designed and built a marine diesel scrubber to remove SO2 from the engine exhaust of ocean going vessels. The scrubber was integrated into the Advanced Maritime Emissions Control System (AMECS) used at the Port of Long Beach. AMECS is a stationary system that uses a bonnet to capture the exhaust gas from the ships stack while at port. The exhaust gases are conveyed to AMECS to clean the gases of particulate (PM), NOx and SOx before exhausting to atmosphere. This allows the ship to operate its auxiliary engines and boiler system while at port to provide power to the ship. AMECS provides a cost effective way for ships and port operators to reduce emissions and to meet tougher regulatory standards.
The AMECS team recently announced that the California Air Resource Board (CARB) has approved AMECS as an alternative technology for the At-Berth Regulation. This approval follows more than 1500 hours of validation testing on 40+ vessels during 2012 and 2013. The most recent testing occurred in October of 2013 and was attended by representative of CARB and SCAQMD as well as representatives from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The test yielded impressive results, including:
- PM 94.5%
- NOx (@1.6ppm ammonia slip) 99+%
- SO2 98.5%
- VOCs 99.5%
In a parallel track, the maritime industry is looking for ways to meet tougher standards not only at port but while operating at sea based on the IMO Annex VI MARIPOL Tier III requirements. Envitech continues to develop De-SOx technology options for ship based marine diesel engines. The recent CARB approval is a milestone achievement for demonstrating the Envitech scrubbers ability to achieve high SO2 removal efficiency over a wide range of diesel exhaust and operating conditions.
Click on the link below to download a case study on the marine scrubber.
