PURETEQ: THE SIMPLE SOLUTION TO A GLOBAL CHALLENGE

PureteQ supplies built-to-fit maritime scrubber systems to shipowners who wish to increase their ships’ environmental performance and save money on fuel by continuing use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) while complying with the International Maritime Organization’s regulations.

ONBOARD CARBONCAPTURE-READY SCRUBBER SYSTEMS

PureteQ’s scrubber systems can handle a load of up to 100MW installed power and are among the most reliable, safe, and user-friendly exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) in the industry. Energy performance is superior due to the patented hydrodynamic fluid distribution system that allows for no interior obstructions. All PureteQ scrubbers come with a user-friendly control system with real-time remote access. The latest addition to our scrubber systems is a solvent-based onboard carbon capture integration resulting in a CO2 reduction of 30-60% of a ship’s exhaust gas, depending on ship type.

HOW TO CHOOSE A COST-EFFECTIVE SCRUBBER DESIGN

It has become ever-more complicated to choose a scrubber design to match the ship’s actual trade pattern. The most important factor for many shipowners is capital expenditure (CAPEX), but once installed, operating expenditure (OPEX), technical performance and after-sales support become important factors.

CAPEX: In principle, there are three costs that comprise the total cost of installation:

1. Cost of the scrubber system, including main components.

2. Cost of installing the plant, including cabling and piping, as well as structural work.

3. Cost of off-hire.

When selecting which maker or design is the best for the vessel, one should always consider the total installation cost and not merely individual costs. Because of high freight rates, the off-hire costs are, in many cases, by far the highest cost when installing a scrubber system. It is therefore of utmost importance to choose a scrubber design that is easy and fast to install and requires minimum changes to existing structures.

OPEX: The highest cost is fuel consumption of operating the seawater pumps, zero leak air fans and other scrubber-related equipment. First priority should therefore be to evaluate the energy efficiency of the scrubber system – not only what has been said by the manufacturer when negotiating the contract, but also that the scrubber maker measures and reports the energy consumption. Hence provide proof of actual power consumption as various loads. So far, there are just three scrubber makers in the world that measure energy consumption.

The second priority is to ensure that the scrubber maker has been diligent when choosing components with the lowest possible life cost – not just the cheapest purchasing price.

Technical performance: The first priority is to ensure that the scrubber system can regulate automatically for the lowest possible energy consumption at a range of loads, matching the trade pattern of the vessel. handling CO2 becomes available. A SOx scrubber is considered a pre-requisite for installing any kind of solvent-based carbon capture.

Some brand designs have constraints on how much the waterflow can be regulated and still clean the gas. Other brands have constraints in the functionality of the software, which is not easily fixed. Most scrubber makers have outsourced software to thirdparty suppliers, who do not always understand the needs onboard a ship.

At PureteQ, we take great pride in having the most advanced software developed and supported in-house by our proficient engineers. Most of the time, it is not necessary to be in physical attendance as many issues may be supported or fixed remotely. Additionally, the PureteQ system is designed to automatically upload data to a cloud-based platform for optimisation and reporting of system performance across scrubber fitted ships to provide peace of mind to shipowners and operators.

The Future

We are witnessing a shift of focus from pollution to climate change. The shipping industry is now included in the European Carbon Trading System and almost all shipowners have pledged to a zero-carbon future – an additional incentive to buying new fuels or investing in onboard carbon capture, none of which exist in any worth mentioning scale today.

After sales support: Today PureteQ is by far the world’s largest service provider for all brands of scrubbers. PureteQ has offices in Europe and Asia and from there, our trained marine engineers are dispatched from the nearest location. In Japan and Singapore, we have moved from shared offices to our own facilities, with better equipped and larger offices, training rooms and workshops. We have facilities to refurbish cells and sensors in both locations, as well as in Europe, and the service business is steadily growing.

The Wise Choice

One should not choose a specific brand of scrubber for the wrong reasons. If a system promises new features such as onboard carbon capture, be sure to ask the cost per ton of CO2 as well as the amount of CO2 being captured and energy consumption of such a system. Most scrubbers may be retrofitted with a carbon capture feature when such technologies become readily available for energy efficient onboard carbon capturing and the infrastructure for

Furthermore, implementation of a carbon intensity indicator (CII) has by now caused many shipowners to invest in energy saving technologies to prolong the life of existing assets, such as air lubrication, solar panels, rudders, new paint, sails and foils. The majority of existing ships will be forced to lower their speed by derating engines, which in turn means less trade and further focus on saving costs. Cost of energy in any form is very high, and the spread between high sulphur fuel oil and compliant fuel is consistently high.

Furthermore, shipowners realise that it may take some years before alternative fuel and onboard carbon capture technologies become available for shipping.

In view of the scarcity of energy, it is of great importance that we all become more energy efficient and make use of whatever technology is available to reduce climate change. PureteQ Group is committed to continuously investing in R&D to provide optimisation of existing technologies, as well as new technologies within the fields of carbon capture and power-to-x. PureteQ Maritime Scrubbers therefore now come as onboard carbon-capture ready scrubbers.

For more information, contact:

Anders Skibdal, CEO PureteQ Group

Tel: + 45 4017 1400

Email: anders@pureteq.com pureteq.com

Coming up with the best alternative fuel for the maritime industry is no easy task. While there are many options out there, availability and the necessary background infrastructure continue to be issues