New Shanghai Training Center for Alfa Laval

Recently, Alfa Laval inaugurated the Alfa Laval PureSOx Training Center in Shanghai, China. Focused on the training of commissioning engineers, the new facility will be instrumental in ramping up the skilled workforce prior to the global sulphur cap. But with its full-sized PureSOx scrubber, it will also provide crew training opportunities for customers.

Alfa Laval has not only invested heavily in PureSOx manufacturing operations, but is also working to further expand its service and training resources in exhaust gas cleaning. As more PureSOx scrubbers are installed to meet the global sulphur cap, skilled local engineers will be required to commission the many systems.

Accurately recreating the onboard experience
With its full-sized PureSOx scrubber system, the new PureSOx Training Center gives Alfa Laval autonomy in providing on-the-job training to commissioning engineers. Trainees will no longer have to wait for a suitable vessel and installation, but will instead be able to hone their commissioning skills in an environment that is as close to reality as possible. This will ensure that they are fully prepared for the onboard work of bringing customer systems online.

In keeping with this thinking, the design of the open-loop system is based on an existing customer project. However, instead of being connected to an engine, the facility’s scrubber is part of a detailed simulation, in which no exhaust gas is used but values and signals related to the exhaust gas are accurately reproduced. Because the system has all of the real ancillaries, including valves and pumps, it does use a real flow of water, which is recirculated to minimize waste.

A training resource for customers as well
Having the PureSOx Training Center in Shanghai will increase the speed and effectiveness of training Alfa Laval commissioning engineers during the ramp-up phase connected to 2020.

As a further and ongoing service to customers, the new facility will also be possible to use for crew trainings. The unique setup, which pairs an accurate onboard experience with focus and calm that are seldom found on a real vessel, will be as beneficial for crew learning as it is for Alfa Laval’s own engineers.