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The history of scrubbers in the marine market
The 1930s
saw the adoption of scrubbing technology to remove sulphur oxides (SOx)
and particulate matter (PM) from gaseous emissions in land-based
industries.
Scrubbing
technologies were initially transferred to the marine market as an
inexpensive way to produce inert gas for reducing the fire hazard in the
cargo tanks of tankers during unloading. During the 1960s, scrubbers
were introduced as a method for scrubbing exhaust gas emissions from the
tanker’s boiler plant.
In 1991, the
first prototype scrubber for controlling exhaust gas emissions was
installed onboard a ship, enabling thorough cleaning of gas from the
main and auxiliary engines, either by the same unit or by two separate
installation units.
By 1998, the
seawater scrubber had advanced enough to enable a comprehensive field
trial. The Canadian ice breaker Louis S. St-Laurent was subjected to 22
days of testing during a six-week transatlantic voyage. At the same
time, a different scrubber prototype was fitted to the passenger ferry
Leif Ericson to investigate washwater quality through the washwater
treatment plant. In addition, installations on the Zaandam, the Pride of
Kent, and the Suula, not only demonstrated the scrubber’s ability to
remove pollutants but also to fit into the space occupied by the
silencer to maximise the available cargo space.
Due to size
and space constraints on ships, scrubbers were further developed to
allow a single unit to function for both the main and auxiliary engines.
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