Rethinking the conventional wisdom on scrubbers

Written by Marine Log Staff
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First installations of SulPure are set to be completed in 2021

Saint Sulpice, Switzerland, headquartered Daphne Technology has come up with an all-in-one exhaust gas cleaning solution called SulPure that, it says, removes SOx and NOx pollutants simultaneously from large ocean-going vessels’ engines exhaust gas, with no water or wastewater discharge. We asked Daphne Technology’s CEO, Dr. Mario Michan. to tell us more. Here’s what he says:

Dr. Mario Michan, CEO, Daphne Technology

With environmental regulations around SOx, NOx, Particulate Matter (PM) and black carbon only likely to intensify, shipping must embrace clean technologies that were designed with the future in mind.

Ship owners and operators can no longer rely on outdated legacy solutions, such as wet water scrubbers—which were designed well before the current environmental regulations were set. Instead, the onus must be placed on re-thinking expectations around exhaust gas cleaning systems’ capacity to respond to MARPOL Annex VI revisions, as well as further impending emissions challenges that the IMO’s climate change strategy will inevitably bring.

PREPARING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

Against this backdrop, it’s important to recognize the industry’s need for a market-ready regulatory-agnostic solution with the ability to simultaneously tackle all air pollutants, and other environmental challenges, such as water discharge and ocean microplastics. Our aim at Daphne Technology is to work within the existing frameworks and provide the industry with solutions that tackle the range of pollutants shipping needs to eradicate now, and those we anticipate will come over time.

AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGY

With our technology-first air purification approach, we developed SulPure, the world’s first all-in-one, ready to install solution that removes SOx and NOx pollutants simultaneously from large ocean-going vessels’ engines exhaust gas, with no water or wastewater discharge. The system also effectively reduces PM, enabling ship owners to be prepared for the potential tightening of emission regulations in the future.

Beneath the SulPure casing is patented technology designed to reduce NOx and SOx emissions and convert pollutants into solid particles that can be sold as fertilizer

The system purifies exhaust gas by breaking down the pollution molecules in an electron chamber, which uses patented technology to simultaneously eliminate SOx by up to 99.3% m/m and NOx by 85% m/m from the exhaust gas. This is then followed by an injection of urea (or an alternative agent) into the exhaust gas to neutralize acidic gases forming solid particles, which can then be recovered and optionally sold as fertilizer. By transforming the pollutants into a market-ready fertilizer, this unique agricultural production method significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It also means we are directly contributing to the global transition to a circular economy, ultimately reducing pressure on the environment, adding resilience to raw material supply chains, boosting competitiveness, and strengthening economic growth.

Through our SulPure system, ship owners making CAPEX investments in exhaust gas cleaning today can future proof their investments for the next 10 years and beyond. The system negates the necessity for further investment in NOx SCR and EGR systems, as well as SOx abatement. In addition to this, ship operations are not affected when using the system as it can be operated without switching fuel and without significant engine back pressure.

The first installations of SulPure are set to be completed in 2021, which will take no longer than one week and will not require the vessels to be dry-docked.

TACKLING ALL SHIPPING EMISSIONS

Plans are already underway to rapidly design and deliver new exhaust gas purification solutions for other applications beyond SOx and NOx, to meet our ambition of reducing all air pollutants and carbon emissions from shipping. This includes tackling the challenge posed by methane slip (CH4) from LNG-powered vessels, which we have successfully demonstrated and are poised to test onboard vessels.

Our innovation delivers an economically viable and effective route to meeting the IMO’s environmental targets, and represents a shift in the approach to abatement technology in shipping.

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