Prime Lake Technology Sweden AB (Prime Lake) on Thursday (9 July) said it has successfully completed a pilot test for the elimination of harmful contaminants found in wastewater generated from open loop scrubbers.
The test results, obtained by ALS Scandinavia, verify a significant reduction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Sulphur (S), improved turbidity and pH-levels, as well as a dramatic increase of dissolved oxygen (DO).
Prime Lake added it is now moving ahead with its partner, one of Europe’s largest ship owners, to assess and optimize the onboard technical implementation for seaborne trials.
“Coinciding with the new IMO 2020 framework we early on identified treatment of wastewater from scrubbers as a priority, with so-called open loop scrubbers being especially problematic from a marine pollution perspective as they discharge wastewater straight into the ocean,” said Victor Chang, CEO, Prime Lake.
“Although further tests are required for optimization it is safe to say that our Electro-Aeration solution transforms the wastewater from open loop scrubbers into a ‘product’ that can be discharged with minimal impact on the marine environment, falling well within acceptable limits.”
“As a response to the IMO 2020 framework owners globally rushed to install scrubbers in order to be compliant with the sulphur cap, with an estimated 85% of owners opting for open loop scrubbers,” added George Kinigalakis, Chief Compliance Officer at Prime Lake and former expert advisor on EU programs around ship recycling.
“However, wastewater generated from scrubbers caused several key ports to enact ECAs, which over time would create a challenging environment – for liners in particular – to operate key routes.
“Consequently, it is satisfying that we are now able to present a possible solution for these owners, and we are looking forward to seaborne trials to advance this technology further.”
Photo credit: Prime Lake Technology Sweden AB
Published: 15 July, 2020
Attached table outlines North’s updated insight on the stands taken by ports that have or will prohibit the use of scrubbers, or have placed conditions on their use.
‘We are delighted that this independent report confirms that when taking things into consideration, our EGCs create less CO2 emissions than sulphur-compliant fuel,’ it said.
The conditions inside a scrubber are very harsh, with a combination of acids, elevated temperatures and a high chloride content in the wash water, explained corrosion specialist.
Demand for the vessel exhaust cleaning equipment known as scrubbers has fallen because of a narrowing spread between high- and low-sulphur fuel, it says.
A more normalised fuel market will develop post-COVID19, and the profitability of its scrubbers investments is expected to improve in the future, it said.
The order was placed in the first quarter of 2020 and equipment deliveries scheduled between the last quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021.
The top three positive movers in the 2020 bunker supplier list are Hong Lam Fuels Pte Ltd (+13); Chevron Singapore Pte Ltd (+12); and SK Energy International (+8), according to MPA list.
‘We will operate in the Singapore bunkering market from the Tokyo, with support from local staff at Sumitomo Corporation Singapore,’ source tells Manifold Times.
Changes include abolishing advance declaration of bunkers as dangerous cargo, reducing pilotage fees on vessels receiving bunkers, and a ‘whitelist’ system for bunker tankers.
Claim relates to deliveries of MGO to the vessels Pacific Diligence, Pacific Valkyrie, Pacific Defiance, Crest Alpha 1, and Pacific Warlock between March 2020 to April 2020.
3,490 mt of LSFO from Itochu Enex was lifted at Universal Terminal; the same bunker stem was bought by Global Marine Logistics and delivered by bunker tanker Juma to receiving vessel Kirana Nawa.
Representatives of Veritas Petroleum Services, Maersk, INTERTANKO, ElbOil Singapore, and SDE International provide insight from their respective fields of expertise on what lies ahead.
