On 28 July 2021, the world’s largest container vessel - Ever Ace, set sail from Samsung Heavy Industries’ shipyard. Owned by Evergreen Marine Corporation, Ever Ace has two Alfa Laval PureSOx scrubbers with a shared water cleaning system (WCS). This consolidated solution provides maximum reliability with a minimal footprint.
Ever Ace is the first of 12 vessels planned for Evergreen’s record-breaking A Class, which comprises container vessels of nearly 24,000 TEU capacity. Powered by a massive main engine of nearly 60 MW, it also has five auxiliary engines of 4.5 MW each.
PureSOx scrubbers installed
To clean the engines’ exhaust gas, the Ever Ace has two PureSOx scrubbers on board
To clean the engines’ exhaust gas, the Ever Ace has two PureSOx scrubbers on board – one for the main engine and one for the auxiliaries. As hybrid scrubbers that can operate in open or closed loop, they require effective cleaning of the closed-loop circulation water. This is provided by a shared WCS, based primarily on high-speed centrifugal separation.
Reliability and low operating costs are always important factors in Evergreen’s decision-making. In this case, especially Alfa Laval’s strong references for PureSOx and water cleaning technology played a crucial role.
Alfa Laval’s WCS design
Alfa Laval’s WCS design was recently updated, so as to provide additional modular options to ensure a compact and cost-effective fit. On vessels with high engine power, such as mega-container vessels, it allows for greater capacity by adding flocculation to the centrifugal separation at its heart.
This is the case on the Ever Ace, where the WCS incorporate three high-speed separators, flocculator modules and a feed pump. Though it serves two PureSOx scrubbers with a combined exhaust gas cleaning capacity of almost 200 t/h, the WCS has a minimal footprint in relation to its high efficiency.
Shared WCS performance confirmed at sea
Just as the Ever Ace is the first in its class of specially designed vessels, the shared WCS was the first with the new design to be commissioned by the PureSOx team.
The limited gas load, during a short shipyard sea trial, was not enough to test the full WCS cleaning capacity, so Alfa Laval experts followed Ever Ace during a September journey from the United Kingdom to Germany and the Netherlands. This provided time for a more thorough WCS evaluation, as well as for crew training and the resolution of open items, after leaving the shipyard.
High cleaning performance
Along the route, the WCS could be observed during longer periods with high engine loads
Along the route, the WCS could be observed during longer periods with high engine loads. Cleaning performance was high throughout the voyage, even when much larger amounts of circulation water reached the WCS. With that real-life proof in hand, Evergreen can be confident of future compliance with PureSOx.
Alfa Laval is active in the areas of Energy, Marine, and Food & Water, offering its expertise, products, and service to a wide range of industries, in some 100 countries. The company is committed to optimising processes, creating responsible growth, and driving progress – always going the extra mile to support customers in achieving their business goals and sustainability targets.
Alfa Laval’s innovative technologies
Alfa Laval’s innovative technologies are dedicated to purifying, refining, and reusing materials, so as to promote more responsible use of natural resources. They contribute to improved energy efficiency and heat recovery, better water treatment, and reduced emissions.
Hence, Alfa Laval is not only accelerating success for its customers, but also for the people and the planet. Making the world better, every day, as it’s all about advancing better is the company’s mission.