Wärtsilä rolls out smaller, eco-efficient scrubber design

Finnish tech company Wärtsilä has launched its new IQ Series exhaust gas treatment system, designed by its Exhaust Treatment business unit in Moss, Norway.

As informed, the IQ Series scrubber uses a new design that allows the same exhaust gas cleaning results to be achieved within a smaller footprint. The scrubber takes up 25% less space, is 30% lighter, and has 35% less volume, which minimizes the impact on a vessel’s cargo-carrying capacity, according to the tech firm.

Additionally, the scrubber – which can be configured to use between 20 and 70 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 (EGR) to cut NO_x, a black carbon filter to cut particulate matter (PM), a depluming unit to cut visible steam from the stack, and a carbon capture and storage (CCS) module that Wärtsilä is currently developing in its Moss test facility.

The new design features several improvements that make the technology especially well-suited to container vessels, satisfying the increased demand in scrubbers as a compliance option from the container market segment.

“We have particularly designed IQ Series with our container segment customers in mind. There is 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. That’s why we have brought to market this new design that is lighter, smaller and less voluminous,” Sigurd Jenssen, Director, Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment, said.

IQ Series is also a more environmentally-friendly option for owners and operators looking at the impact of their investment decisions, with Wärtsilä manufacturing the technology using 50% recycled steel.

The announcement comes a week after the company revealed plans to commercially launch its Two-Stroke Future Fuels Conversion platform. The engine combustion technology platform will enable the fast and cost-effective conversion of two-stroke main engines to operate on clean-burning future fuels, according to Wärtsilä.

This is seen as a major step in the maritime industry’s efforts to achieve decarbonised shipping operations, while the easy retrofitting will avoid owners having to face long off-hire charter time.