January 2020 is seen as a turning point for air quality management in large port cities, promising residents a breath of fresh air soon. According to a new air pollution standard, all the ships arriving at ports should have special cleaning devices that allow significantly reducing the level of fuel emissions.

Ships release significant amounts of sulfur oxides or SOx gas when burning fuel, and SOx air pollution can lead to breathing issues and lung diseases, as well as interact with cloud moisture, resulting in acid rain. That is why, according to the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO), the maximum allowable level of sulfur air pollutants is 0.5 percent compared to the previous 3.5 percent.

Although this type of restriction benefits human health and the environment, the shipping sector encounters several obstacles. Ship owners confirm that it is highly difficult and expensive to meet this air quality standard and its deadline. Today there are only two solutions to the air pollution problem.

The first solution to air quality treatment for shipping companies is the use of low-sulfur fuel. Its cost is higher than regular fuel and still requires testing on safety and efficiency. The second option is to install a scrubbing system, which is a special tool for air treatment that uses water, chemicals, or both (depending on the scrubber type).

It should be noted that wet scrubbers turn SOx exhaust into sulfuric acid, and then into removable sulfate salts. The deadline for air pollution standards forces ship operators to buy or get in line for scrubbing system installation. Wet scrubbing systems can incur considerable costs, particularly for small shipping companies and vessels.

Simultaneously, installing a scrubber is less expensive than the extra expense of several years supply of low-sulfur fuel. That is why, some small companies prefer to use open-loop scrubbing system, which discharges their waste water into the ocean. Usually, they are cheaper and smaller than closed-loop wet scrubbers, because there is no need to store wastes.

Nonetheless, some countries, for example, Singapore and China banned open-loop scrubbing systems because of sea environmental concerns. The thing is that water waste discharge from open-loop scrubbers may change ocean water chemistry by increasing ocean acidification. The use of open-loop wet scrubbing systems remains a source of conflict, but they are considered to be the most effective and safe air treatment device among other air pollution control equipment at the present.

If you are looking for the best air treatment device to improve air quality, Redwood Technology offers a cutting-edge type of wet scrubber – a Multi-Vortex wet air scrubber.

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