The approval comes with less than a year to go before the IMO Tier III NOx standards take effect on 1st January, 2016.
A comprehensive NOx abatement technology, the EGR will be used with MAN’s 2-stroke marine engines to reduce NOx emissions. The EGR is an alternative to selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology and both are compliant with the IMO NOx Technical Code.
In 2012, Alfa Laval signed a co-operation agreement with MDT to develop the water treatment system for cleaning scrubber water in its EGR system. PureNOx not only prevents soot and compounds derived from the exhaust gas from accumulating in the EGR scrubber and corroding the engine, but also enables the bleed-off of clean water overboard in compliance with IMO criteria.
“From the start, we have worked closely with MAN to develop and refine the water treatment system,” said Kristina Effler, global business manager, water treatment exhaust gas emissions. “Receiving the MAN Certificate of Approval for PureNOx is proof positive that close co-operation really pays off.”
Modular in design, PureNOx is compact and easy to install so it can be positioned anywhere in the engine room; the EGR system itself is integrated with the engine. This simplifies ship design and reduces installation time and costs, Alfa Laval said.
MDT is now moving quickly towards EGR system commercialisation with Alfa Laval keeping pace by introducing the next-generation PureNOx Prime water treatment system, which minimses the amount of sludge for onshore disposal.
“By year end, we will launch the PureNOx Prime, which is smaller and less complex than the original, but also far less expensive,” said Effler.
****Meanwhile, MDT has reported that its two-stage turbocharging development project, ECOCHARGE, recently passed a significant milestone on its way to a successful market introduction.
Individual MAN TCR20 and MAN TCX17 units – combined as a single, two-stage turbocharging system – has had a first run on an MAN 12V35/44 gas engine on a test bed at the Augsburg works. The ECOCHARGE system has been developed for both gas- and HFO-burning engines, MDT said.
MDT said it saw great potential in two-stage turbocharged engines, illustrated by the spate of recent orders. Two-stage turbocharging differs significantly from single-stage turbocharging in that it also copes with the demands of a high-pressure stage.
The MAN TCX turbocharger was specifically developed for two-stage turbocharger applications.