The technology group Wärtsilä has launched a new lighter, smaller, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Series exhaust gas treatment system, designed by its Exhaust Treatment business unit in Norway.
The IQ Series includes an advanced exhaust gas treatment technology, featuring several improvements that make the technology well suited, particularly to container vessels where space is a key commercial priority, meeting the increased demand in scrubbers as a compliance option from the container market segment.
“There is a huge demand in the container market for exhaust gas cleaning solutions that enable compliance and have a minimal impact on the profitability of the vessel,” noted Sigurd Jenssen, Director, Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment.
“That’s why we have brought to market this new design that is lighter, smaller and less voluminous, enabling us to respond to what our customers are asking for, while also maintaining the same high-quality engineering and results they expect from Wärtsilä,” explained Jenssen.
The IQ Series scrubber allows the same exhaust gas cleaning results to be achieved within a smaller footprint. In particular, the scrubber takes up 25% less space, it is 30% lighter while having 35% less volume, according to a statement, which minimises the impact on a vessel’s carrying capacity, and consequently its profitability.
The new series of scrubbers is also a more environmentally-friendly option for owners and operators, while Wärtsilä officials have stated that they manufacture the technology using 50% recycled steel.
Additionally, the scrubber which can be configured to use between 20 and 70 megawatts (MW) of power, depending on vessel requirements, features the same modular design as Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment’s other exhaust gas cleaning solutions.
This means that the IQ Series can be upgraded with further technologies that enable other pollutants to be tackled within the stack, including exhaust gas recirculation to cut nitrogen oxides, a black carbon filter to cut particulate matter, a depluming unit to cut visible steam from the stack, and a carbon capture and storage module that Wärtsilä is currently developing.
