Fuji Electric ships ship exhaust gas cleaning system in the first shipment

2018-10-22

Fuji Electric Pillar Co., Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, President Michihiro Kitazawa announced today that it is shipping its first ship exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) through its Chiba plant.

1. Background

In order to reduce emissions of air pollutants sulfur oxides (SOx), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) expects to set a sulfur cap of 0.5% (current limit: 3.5%) on ship fuel in most sea areas*1 by 2020. This regulation will apply to all existing as well as newly built vessels. Once this regulation is further enforced, shipowners will have to address this issue in a variety of ways, such as using fuel oil with reduced sulphur content, or using SOx scrubbers. Fuji Electric has developed an EGCS equipped with an SOx scrubber that mixes the exhaust gas with seawater to reduce the sulfur content of the exhaust gas. Today, the first batch of SOx scrubbers was shipped and left our Chiba plant.

*1 Excludes North America and the Caribbean, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and other seas. From 2015, it was set at 0.1%.

Fuji Electric ships ship exhaust gas cleaning system in the first shipment

2. Fuji Electric product features

Our EGCS combines an SOx scrubber with a flue gas analyzer to measure the concentration of substances in the exhaust gas in real time, with an inverter and controller to control the feed pump that absorbs seawater. The scrubber is more than 98% efficient and can also be used in regulated areas with a sulfur limit of 0.1%.

• Uses our proprietary technology to achieve the world's smallest SOx scrubber

Fuji Electric's SOx scrubber is the first of its kind in the world to incorporate cyclone technology into its internal structure. This technology creates a vortex in the exhaust gases and uses spiral-distributed pipes to spray seawater, which in turn brings the seawater (or alkaline chemicals) into full contact with the exhaust gases (as shown in the figure below on the right). This is the world's smallest *2SOx scrubber we have produced. The scrubber can be easily used on existing vessels with limited installation space and also reduces the loss of loading space due to system installation.

We have patents for pipe structures (branch and spiral structures) and nozzle distribution.

*2 Compared to competitors' existing products with equivalent engines, we are approximately 50% smaller.

It can be used in any sea area

Fuji Electric's SOx scrubbers can also be used in both open-loop and hybrid types. The open-loop type is a system with a lower investment and requires fewer accessories; It uses seawater once and discharges it outside the ship. The hybrid version combines open-loop and closed-loop technology (using a recirculating seawater method mixed with alkaline chemicals) to allow the vessel to be converted in accordance with the regulations of the sea area in which it operates. This allows the ship to operate anywhere, including in areas where drainage is prohibited. *3

*3 Germany's rivers and ports, 3 miles of Belgium coast and bays, and waters of California, Connecticut, and Hawaii in the United States.

• Reduced operating costs

After the installation of this system, the current fuel oil (heavy fuel oil) can continue to be used instead of using fuel with a lower sulphur content, thus reducing the operating costs of the boat owner. We calculate that the system will have a return on investment in about three years. *4

*4 Based on the fuel consumption of a 95,000 deadweight tonnage equivalent bulk carrier using fuel prices as of September 2018.

3. Main applications

Bulk carriers, oil tankers, container ships, car carriers, etc

4. SOx scrubber specifications

Various sizes are also available in open-loop and hybrid types.

Fuji Electric ships ship exhaust gas cleaning system in the first shipment

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