Alfa Laval Announces a "New Generation" of Scrubber Technology

PureSOx 2.0 was said to be smaller and more flexible than its predecessor.

Alfa Laval has announced its latest offering in the Exhaust Gas Cleaning (EGC) sphere, which this week was presented at the 2014 SMM international maritime trade fair in Hamburg. 

The company, who already has a presence in the global market for EGC products with its PureSOx scrubber, said its new generation of the system, PureSOx 2.0, had significant benefits over its predecessor making it suitable for a wider range of vessels.

"Size and flexibility are of primary importance when integrating a scrubber into the vessel," said Réné Diks, Alfa Laval Manager Marketing & Sales, Exhaust Gas Cleaning.

"PureSOx 2.0 makes a real difference in these respects."

The new scrubber has a main body that is around 15% smaller, making it more easily integrated into vessels and less intrusive on ships' passenger or cargo space, while design improvements aim to make it a more flexible solution for both retrofitted vessels and new designs.

This flexibility, says Alfa Laval, has a host of potential benefits that include reducing operating noise, improving ship stability, and potentially reducing fuel consumption.

Dirks noted a further difference with PureSOx 2.0 is that a powder additive like sodium bicarbonate can be used as the circulation water's alkaline additive, instead of the liquid additive caustic soda used at present.

"For the crew there is an immediate benefit in powder dosing, since it reduces the risks involved when handling the consumables," Diks says.

"The long-term advantage is the fact that powder additives are less expensive. When powder dosing is chosen, there is a reduction in operating costs that offsets the equipment investment."

"PureSOx 2.0 is more of an evolution than a revolution," concluded Diks, "but the benefits are so significant that they call for a new version name."

Alfa Laval counts DFDS among its customers and increased its order book earlier this summer with an $11.4 million deal with a German shipowner.