Engine company launches SCR for inland waters
Volvo Penta and STT Emtec have trialled the SCR on a Swedish coastal ferry
Volvo Penta, together with Swedish emission control specialist STT Emtec, is introducing an effective solution to greatly reduce NOx emissions from high speed marine diesel engines.
The system uses selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology and is intended for passenger ferries on river waterways and in city harbors as well as government vessels like pilot and patrol boats, workboats and harbour tugs and other applications where emission demands are stringent.
The company points out that SCR is an established technology for environmentally sensitive areas, with some ferries in the Baltic Sea having successfully used SCR technology for some time.
The marine SCR system can be fitted to all Volvo Penta marine diesels, and reductions in NOx emissions of up to 90% are claimed.
Volvo Penta says that its marine commercial engine range already meets EU inland waterways stage 3A, US EPA tier 2 and IMO tier 2, in force from Jan 2011. With the SCR system, NOx levels can be further reduced down to 2 g/kWh. This is in line with the levels of IMO Tier 3, in force from January 2016.
SCR works by injecting urea into the hot exhaust stream where the urea decomposes to ammonia. The ammonia enters a catalyst where it reacts with nitrogen oxide (NOx) in the exhaust and reduces it to pure nitrogen. The product stems from STT Emtec’s knowledge of NOx reduction technologies in the automotive sector, which has been tailored to the specific needs of coastal workboats, ships and offshore vessels. Volvo Penta is making the SCR technology ready for marine high speed diesels that run on regular diesel fuel.
The system includes a control system, a urea tank, a urea pump with an injection module, and a catalyst. The system has been extensively tested in Sweden onboard the passenger ferry Sandhamn which operates in the Stockholm Archipelago.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
