Clean exhaust, clean air
The environmental benefits provided by scrubbers.
We believe knowledge grows
Exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) has been a common and accepted technology in shore-based industries for more than 60 years, and was adapted for use in the maritime industry more than a decade ago.
Since then, thousands of scrubbers have been installed worldwide, and ship-owners and operators have learned that there are several environmental benefits to installing a scrubber system.
Lower SOx emissions
Sea water has a natural alkalinity with capacity to absorb and neutralize the sulphur dioxide (SOx) gas from the exhaust, which is further oxidised to non-toxic sulphate (SO42-) in the ocean. Sulphate is the third most prevalent constituent of sea water after chloride and sodium ions.
Several scientific studies conducted over the past ten years show that the water discharged from open-loop scrubbers is harmless to local waters and ports, and that it has minimal impacts on marine environments and aquatic life. Sulphur in the air, on the other hand, is harmful to human populations, erodes buildings, and destroys natural habitats through acid rain.
Installing a scrubber also saves operational costs, since you can continue to use heavy fuel oil (HFO) after the IMO 2020 SOx regulations went into effect, instead of switching to more expensive compliant fuels.
Lower CO2 footprint
In a study published in June 2019 by the Norwegian research organisation SINTEF, Chief Scientist Dr. Elizabeth Lindstad concluded that the continued use of HFO with a scrubber emits less greenhouse gas emissions as compared to marine gas oil (MGO) and LNG fuel. This is due to the energy consumption required during the refining and desulphurisation process.
Less particulate matter
Emissions of particulate matter (PM) from combustion of fuel oils can cause severe health effects. It is estimated that approximately 3% of deaths from cardiopulmonary disease and 5% from lung cancer are attributable to PM emissions globally.
The particle size influences how hazardous the PM emissions are for human health. The World Health Organization has set the limit of PM exposure of fine particles (PM2.5) to be half of the exposure limit of larger particles (PM10), indicating that the toxicity of particulate matter increases with decreasing particle size. Combustion of compliant fuels containing refined products emits more of the finer particles as compared to HFO.
When operating on HFO with a scrubber, close to 75% by mass of the PM emissions from combustion is captured by the scrubber. The number of particles emitted by vessels sailing on MGO is more than 2 times higher than from vessels operating on HFO with a scrubber.