Scrubbing systems (or exhaust gas cleaning systems) are considered to be the best air treatment devices that are able to take away particulate matters and dangerous components, for example, sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) oxides from the exhaust gases resulting from combustion processes in ship engines to carry out air pollution control.

The main scrubbing application includes the treatment of exhaust gases from engines, auxiliary engines, and boilers, onshore and onboard marine vehicles, to provide no damage is done to human life and the environment by toxic air pollutants. Herewith, it should be noted that according to the MARPOL Treaty the level of sulfur emissions to the atmosphere by ships are required to be reduced by 01 January 2020 to ensure air treatment.

Thus, all ship owners have to install scrubbing systems on their boards in order to comply with international regulations and standards economically. The principle of scrubber operation is based on exhaust gas streams that pass inside the scrubbing system that has an alkaline solution to neutralize the acidic nature of the exhaust gases and take away any particulate matter from the exhaust. The used solution from the scrubbing system can be then collected with wash water that is stored or disposed of.

There are the following types of scrubbing systems that include:

• Dry air scrubbers that use solid lime as the alkaline scrubbing solution that allows removing SOx from exhaust gases;
• Wet air scrubbers that use water (fresh or sea) for the same purpose. Additionally, all wet scrubbing systems are classified into open-loop (that discharge the used water) and closed-loop (that store the liquid until it will be removed in a special place) scrubbers. Moreover, there are hybrid scrubbers that are able to employ both closed and open running modes either at the same time or by switching between the two.

Open-loop scrubbing systems offer such benefits as simple design, easy installation and a few moving parts, minimal maintenance and no need for waste material storage. At the same time, this type of scrubbers has such disadvantages as problems with the cooling of the exhaust gas, dependence on water alkalinity, high power consumption, and high fuel cost.

Finally, closed-loop wet air scrubbers also require less maintenance, and the scrubbing system is independent of the ship operating environment. Herewith, closed-loop scrubbers need for storage space and the system installation can be quite complex, particularly for dual-fuel engines. Therefore, a shipping company should take numerous factors into consideration to choose the most suitable type of scrubbers.

If you search for the best air treatment device to improve air quality, you can buy a high-tech completely new type of wet scrubber – a Multi-Vortex wet air scrubber produced by Redwood Technology.

Redwood technology is a fast-growing vendor of wet air scrubbers. The multi-vortex scrubber can remove gas emissions, dust, vapors, and other pollutants from a gas stream. It is an innovative technology created to save water that makes it more cost-efficient and differs from other types of scrubbers.  If you have any questions or would like to purchase a multi-vortex wet air scrubber, please contact us at info@rdwd.tech