FUTURE PERFECT

Technology group Wärtsilä has recently received its first order for carbon capture and storage-ready scrubber systems –CCS-Ready scrubbers. The contract is the first that Wärtsilä has received for its CCS technologies on a vessel.

The order was booked in Wärtsilä’s order intake in November 2022 and the delivery is expected to take place in 2023.

Four 8,200 TEU container vessels, being built at an Asian-based yard, will be fitted with Wärtsilä’s CCS-Ready 35MW scrubber in an open-loop configuration.

The scrubbers are termed CCS-Ready because, as part of their installation, Wärtsilä will perform additional design and engineering work to ensure that future retrofits for a full CCS system on the vessels have already been accounted for during the newbuilding construction stage.

Wärtsilä will take measures to ensure adequate space for the future installation of the CCS system, incorporate considerations for minimising idle load and optimising utilities, and prepare the control and

As shipping moves to a greener environment, manufacturers of exhaust gas cleaning systems are taking steps to future-proof their equipment automation system accordingly. CCSReady scrubbers will also be designed for integration with a particulate matter filter. Having a CCS-Ready solution ensures that the shipowner has continued regulatory compliance for SOx emissions today and opens the door to smooth CCS system adoption in the future, so futureproofing their existing assets, while remaining competitive and compliant.

Scott Oh, director at Wärtsilä’s Exhaust Treatment Asia, says: “We are very excited to announce this world-first order for our CCS-Ready scrubber solution. CCS is one of the key solutions to enable maritime decarbonisation in a short timeframe, and we look forward to progressing our technology further.”

Wärtsilä is currently testing its CCS system at a 70% capture rate and a pilot installation will take place within the next 12 months.

The company has a range of lifecycle scrubbing solutions and offers integrated compliant solutions for all types of ships, and in open-loop, closed-loop or hybrid configurations. Wärtsilä’s scrubbers are built with a modular approach to future technology development, creating a platform for the abatement of other emissions from shipping beyond sulphur.

Lng In The Spotlight

A consortium that includes Wärtsilä has secured European Union funding to develop solutions minimising methane slip from marine engines, advancing the environmental and climate benefits of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a ship fuel.

Coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Green Ray project brings together several companies from across the shipping value chain: shipyard Chantiers de l’Atlantique, shipowner CMA CGA, classification society DNV GL, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, ship manager MSC Cruises Management, non-profit organisation Revolve Water and energy major Shell.

The project will develop on-engine technologies for low-pressure dualfuel engines – both 2- and 4-stroke – as well as a novel after-treatment concept. These solutions will be advanced to a high state of technology readiness, including demonstrators installed on two newbuilds and one retrofitted to an existing vessel.

All the technologies developed in Green Ray will also be fully capable to utilise bio- or synthetic methane instead of fossil LNG.

Wärtsilä will develop technology specifically for low pressure 4-stroke dual fuel engines that enables methane slip reduction, increases efficiency and lower operational costs at all engine loads. This technology targets the largest four-stroke engines on the market as widely used by cruise ships, ferries and gas carriers.

Wärtsilä will also develop an onengine technology for 2-stroke engines around a patented LNG injection system to reduce methane slip from tankers, container ships, and so on. Both technologies will be demonstrated at sea in real application during the project in collaboration with the Green Ray partners.

The use of LNG as a marine fuel is accelerating, driven by a welldeveloped supply infrastructure, a clear transition to cleaner fuels and significant air pollution and climate benefits. The issue of methane slip – unutilised and thus unburned fuel escaping into the atmosphere from engines and across the production and supply chain – is seen as one of the main challenges to wider uptake.

“Methane slip has become an important factor in shipowners’ decisions about whether to use LNG fuel,” says Kati Lehtoranta, principal scientist, VTT. “ With these promising technologies, we aim to reduce the slip contributing directly to reduction of the total greenhouse gas emissions, opening this pathway to an even wider segment of the maritime market.”

Shell, meanwhile, has developed a proprietary methane abatement catalyst system that has been lab tested and scaled up to a field demonstration, where it was proven to be effective not only in significantly reducing methane slip (more than 90%), but also in handling typical compounds that can degrade the catalyst, via the inclusion of a guard bed.

“Shell’s climate ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 will require us to explore a range of avenues that have the potential to help us, our partners, and customers to decarbonise the existing LNG value chain,” explains Alexander Boekhorst, VP gas processing and conversion technology at Shell.

“We are continuously working to improve the value proposition of LNG through dedicated technology research, and we are keen to develop potential solutions to minimise methane slip at such a relevant project as Green Ray.”

“This research will allow us to build on the continuous improvements made in reducing methane slip from engines over the past 20 years,” says Sebastiaan Bleuanus, general manager, research coordination and funding, Wärtsilä Marine Power.

“Taking these solutions for newbuilds and retrofits to near commercial readiness will be an important step for the long-term viability of LNG as a marine fuel.”

Pipe Repairs

Hydrex recently undertook a series of scrubber overboard pipe repairs in Belgium and the Netherlands.

It carried out scrubber overboard pipe repairs in ports in Belgium and the Netherlands. Corroded pipes were replaced on two tankers, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier and a ro-ro ship. In all cases, the pipes were protected with a corrosion resistant coating produced by Subsea Industries.

During the scrubbing process, exhaust gases can severely corrode the pipes of the scrubber, which can result in water ingress if not handled quickly enough. The process which takes place inside a scrubber makes lasting protection of the pipe essential.

The replacement pipes were constructed at the Hydrex warehouse in Antwerp.

The inside of the pipes were coated with Ecospeed to protect them against corrosion. This is a highly corrosion resistant protective coating produced by Hydrex’s sister company, Subsea Industries.

The coating can also be used to protect a newly installed scrubber system from day one.

A team travelled to the tanker’s location in Antwerp. After arriving at the ship they first performed an inspection of the damaged areas on both the waterside and the onboard side of the hull.

Divers then sealed off the outlet of the overboard pipe. This was done with a custom cofferdam designed and constructed at the company’s workshop.

The corroded scrubber pipe was then removed and a new one was fitted and secured with a fullpenetration weld. When the welding was complete, the surface was cleaned and tests were carried out by an independent inspector.

The LNG carrier had two pipes that required attention. One of these needed to be replaced, but the second pipe had not yet suffered severe corrosion damage.

In this case, the Ecospeed coating was applied to the existing pipe preemptively. This is the same lasting protection as the new pipe and will prevent a costly repair later.