Tech File: Wärtsilä Launches Smaller, Lighter Scrubber Series

When scrubbers were first discussed as a mainstream solution for shipowners to meet strict new emission targets demanded IMO2020, chief concerns centered on size and weight of the new units. Wärtsilä launched its new IQ Series exhaust gas treatment system, designed by its Exhaust Treatment business unit in Moss, Norway, and touted as smaller and lighter.

The IQ Series is the latest advancement in maritime exhaust gas treatment technologies, and it 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.

The IQ Series scrubber design allows the same exhaust gas cleaning results to be achieved within a smaller footprint, according to Wärtsilä, taking up 25% less space, 30% lighter, and with 35% less volume, which minimizes the impact on a vessel’s cargo-carrying capacity.

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, meaning the system can be upgraded with further technologies that enable other pollutants to be tackled within the stack, including exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to cut NOx, a black carbon filter to cut particulate matter (PM), a depluming unit to cut visible steam from the stack, and even a carbon capture and storage (CCS) module that Wärtsilä is currently developing in its Moss test facility.