The company claims that its new ship simulation facility is \u201cthe largest and most advanced in the marine industry\u201d and it \u201cadds considerable muscle to research and development efforts.\u201d centre comprises a 250 m\u00b2 testing area, built around a 2MW marine engine which is surrounded by commercial and prototype equipment from all of Alfa Laval\u2019s marine product groups. Connected to the test system are a dedicated control room and a training complex. The building is supplied with sea water by an 800m pipeline from the nearby Limfjord.<\/p>\n
The engine at the heart of the centre is a MAN Diesel & Turbo 9L28\/32 medium speed unit, weighing around 48 tons and supplying about 2,000kW. Various items of Alfa Laval equipment are attached to the engine, including a PureVent centrifugal separator, which allows for the reuse of the oil mist contained in the crankcase gas. The fuel for the engine, either HFO and MDO for the time being, although other fuels will probably be catered for in the future, will be treated using the company\u2019s Alcap separator and fuel conditioning equipment.<\/p>\n
The seawater provides more than just coolant – the flow splits into two, one for the cooling\/process water and the other to simulate ballast water. The ballast segment is fitted with a PureBallast 3.0 system, which will be used for customer demonstrations as well as for testing and product development. The coolant water will be used for the other technical needs, including scrubber water cooling and the boiler. Desalination is carried out by Alfa Laval\u2019s Aqua single-plate freshwater generator system.<\/p>\n
The facility was formally inaugurated on 15 January by Peter Leifland, president of the Alfa Laval Marine and Diesel division, though parts of it had been contributing to the company\u2019s R&D efforts for several months previously.<\/p>\n
According to Alfa Laval, the feature that distinguishes its new facility from the other test centres in the industry are its fully interconnected process lines. These process lines are full size and organised in a similar fashion to those onboard an actual vessel at sea, though connected to a unified control system. They comprise a fuel line, an integrated water line, a steam line and an exhaust line, as well as the heat exchangers and other auxiliaries needed to support them. Among the applications handled are fuel cleaning and conditioning, waste heat recovery and exhaust gas cleaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter only a half-hour tour of the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre, you come away with an impression of just how deep the knowledge is,\u201d says Lars Skytte J\u00f8rgensen, vice president of Alfa Laval Product Centre Boilers. \u201cThe centre really is similar to a machine room, and you get a sense of all the connections \u2013 not only between the equipment and process lines, but between all the areas of expertise across Alfa Laval.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company points out that a key driver behind the setting up of the new centre was Alfa Laval\u2019s desire to be able to provide customers with assured and cost-effective compliance with current and future environmental legislation. A good example of this is the large PureSOx exhaust gas scrubber installation, located at the test system\u2019s heart. In fact the company points out that exhaust gas cleaning technology was the initial reason for building the facility, in which it now takes pride of place.<\/p>\n
Apart from further development of PureSOx, which, as the company reminds us, has seen recent repeat orders from both DFDS and Spliethoff, the centre will be working with NOx reduction in association with Haldor Tops\u00f8e. This project will focus on selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which provides a second solution alongside Alfa Laval\u2019s PureNOx concept, which is based on exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs emission caps approach, such as the SOx limits appearing in 2015, Alfa Laval is committed to helping customers meet them,\u201d says Jens Peter Hansen, Alfa Laval R&d manager, exhaust gas cleaning. \u201cScrubber technology has already proven effective and commercially viable, and we will continue to refine exhaust gas cleaning through our work here at the centre.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new centre will be employed in other areas of maritime technology in order to provide financial benefits for its customers. \u2018Greener\u2019 methods of operation already provide fuel-saving benefits, which have a significant impact on overall costs, and further refinements in energy efficiency can be developed and optimised at the facility, as a means of both saving money on operating costs and further reducing emissions, including the all-important greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n
Among the facility\u2019s key components in this respect is FCM One, a recently-announced fuel treatment system providing further developments based on Alfa Laval\u2019s original Fuel Conditioning Module. With the FCM One\u2019s integration of heating and cooling functions, a more efficient changeover between HFO and distillates can be managed. Another key component is the centre\u2019s exhaust gas boiler, which will be involved in one of the first post-inauguration research projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnergy efficiency is one of the greatest challenges facing the industry today, but also one of the greatest opportunities for competitive gains,\u201d said Niclas Dahl, Alfa Laval market unit manager, energy. \u201cHere at the centre we can explore the interaction between components \u2013 within and even across process lines \u2013 in a controlled and consistent manner. This will speed up the development of more energy-efficient equipment and new energy-saving techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is not only the company and its clients who will benefit from the centre. Power and heat generated by the centre\u2019s test engine will be, respectively, fed into the electricity grid and made available for district heating, providing a useful bonus for the population of Aalborg.<\/p>\n