Alfa Laval Announces Smaller, More Flexible Scrubber Design

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday May 10, 2016

Alfa Laval Monday announced that its PureSOx U-design scrubber system has been made available "with greatly reduced dimensions," a move it says boosts the design's flexibility for operators.

The smaller scrubber, which has also reduced the unit's weight and height, including 26 percent reduction in the jet section and 17 percent in the absorber section, became available to the market on May 1.

The reduction in scrubber size will make placement easier, reduce installation costs, and minimise the impact on vessel stability, the company says.

"The improvements make it even clearer that the choice of U-design or inline I-design is not specific to vessel type," said René Diks, Manager Marketing & Sales, Exhaust Gas Cleaning at Alfa Laval.

"A scrubber should be customized for the vessel it serves, and the new U-design makes the PureSOx customisation process more flexible."

Alfa Laval notes that the new design comes at a time authorities are looking to decide whether a global 0.50 percent sulfur cap for bunkers in 2020 is viable - something scrubbers, offering a route to an equivalent method of compliance, are expected to play a key role in.

"It is impossible to speculate on the outcome of the study or of MEPC 70 [when the decision is expected to be made], but scrubber technology will be considered in assessing the adequacy of the fuel supply," said Diks.

"PureSOx has shown that SOx limits can be met reliably, even without low-sulfur fuel."

In December, Ship & Bunker reported that Alfa Laval had launched its inline I-design scrubber.