DIA-SOx : DIA-SOx® InfoBank

[ Engineering Business ]

[ SHIP & OCEAN ]

The Compliance Data Storage Monitor (CDSM) is a device that records and stores the operational data of a scrubber system. It is required by IMO Resolution MEPC.259(68) to store the required items in a robust, tamper-proof design with read-only format for at least 18 months from the date of recording. The CDSM for DIA-SOx® Scrubber, which is composed of a computer, display, keyboard, mouse and UPS (uninterruptible power supply), starts recording once the operation is started, and stops when the operation is stopped. The data is automatically listed and graphed during operation, and the contents can be checked on the display in real time. It also has a function to output reports with essential information so as to check the operating status of DIA-SOx® Scrubber. The CDSM is powered via UPS, hence even in the accidental loss of shipboard power, it will automatically store and protect the recorded data and then shut down safely.

[DIA-SOx Electric Design Team]

Ships are normally equipped with many electrical components related to propulsion, cargo handling and accommodation, hence numerous electric cables are installed onboard. Further, the “MCP (Main Control Panel)” of “DIA-SOx” is also connected by lots of electric cables. There are two (2) types of cables in “DIA-SOx”: (i) power cables for driving electric motors, etc., and (ii) signal cables to transmit control signals. The number of wires connected to the “MCP” is coming up to around 80, even for the simple open loop system. Whilst large towers and pipes always stand out when you see the scrubber system installed onboard, we hope that you know the importance of respective cables which makes the system runs properly and safely.

[DIA-SOx Electric Design Team]

“How will the annual running cost change, before and after installing the SOx scrubber?”
It depends on where and how your ship is operating.
If you request it, then we can roughly estimate annual running cost of the ship.
The consumption of fuel and neutralizer (for hybrid system) can be calculated based on the data acquired by AIS tracking tool, such as traveling time in “Global” and “ECA”, berthing time at the port, ship speed and etc.

[DIA-SOx® Basic Design]

One of the important points for retrofitting of the SOx scrubber is “Drainage capacity of scrubber discharge water”.
In addition to the size and shape of overboard outlet specified by the scrubber supplier, there are many factors that affect drainage capacity, such as design of route plan and diameter of discharge water pipes.
If any of them is insufficient, the scrubber may not be able to work as designed. We, MHI-MSB, can provide most suitable design and optimum engineering for scrubber retrofitting to our customer, based on our technologies and experiences of building a large number of new ships as a shipyard.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any plan of “scrubber retrofitting”, regardless of whether the scrubber is supplied by us or other company.

[DIA-SOx® Retrofit Engineering]

SOx scrubber is environmentally friendly plant.
Nevertheless, it is not so easy to retrofit it on the ship which is already in service.
In order to maximize both performance of the SOx scrubber and the ship, it is necessary to design while considering not only the installation of the scrubber but also various conditions of the ship after the installation of the scrubber.
For example, the strength of the ship structure, the effect on carrying capacity of the cargo, generator capacity, etc...those have to be take into the consideration. MHI-MSB call the design work with such further consideration "Engineering".
We always carry out the "Engineering” for the SOx scrubber retrofit, which is considered to be optimum for our customers’ needs and requirements, while also paying attention to the performance of the ship, backed by our extensive experiences accumulated through newbuilding and repair of huge number of the ships in the past.

[DIA-SOx® Retrofit Engineering]

The diameter of scrubber tower greatly depends on the volume flow rate [m3/h] of the treated exhaust gas.
For that reason, when we receive the inquiry from customers, we always question the mass flow rate of the treated exhaust gas [ton/h] and also the temperature of exhaust gas at the scrubber inlet.
Further, the volume flow rate is heavily affected by the combustion condition of the engine and the temperature.
The scrubber is one of essential auxiliary machineries that can significantly reduce fuel costs, and therefore it is quite important when determining tower diameter to have a margin for safe operation without any troubles even if something wrong does occur at the inlet due to the above-mentioned external factors.
However, from the viewpoint of easy installation, many people tend to think that the smaller and lighter scrubber tower should be selected, although the other engine auxiliaries such as boiler, exhaust gas economizer, pumps and plate coolers are to be have sufficient margins.
Recently, meanwhile, more shipowners from a strategic perspective and understanding of the technical grounds prefer to select the tower shape with having a certain margin that can dispose exhaust gas stably avoiding external factors as much as possible.

[DIA-SOx® Development]

As Nagasaki R & D Center, where SOx scrubber pilot plant for cleaning the exhaust gas of heavy oil-fired marine diesel engine was completed, is located inland, it is quite hard for us to get seawater directly from the sea.
When conducting open-loop cleaning tests by seawater, therefore, it was needed to transport a large amount of water by a dedicated large truck many times a day from early morning and to keep replenishing the supply tank in R & D Center within a limited time for continuous operation test.
In that sense, the teamwork of all people involved is the key to success.
pH of the collected water was 8.2 ~ 8.4, which is the same level as the seawater used for normal voyages.

[DIA-SOx® Development]

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MSB) was spun off from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) in 2018 and is currently focusing on marine engineering business as well as conventional shipbuilding business.
MHI and Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha, Ltd. (MKK) have jointly developed for several years in the past an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) scrubber for marine diesel engines, and in 2012 decided to move forward with full-scale development of the SOx scrubber.
In the spring of 2013, the SOx scrubber pilot plant for cleaning the exhaust gas of heavy oil-fired marine diesel engine was completed at Nagasaki R & D Center of MHI. Since then, as well as the tests for closed-loop type exhaust gas cleaning, the tests for open-loop type have been started there.
At the pilot plant, various verification tests have been repeatedly conducted, such as the effect of seawater volume on exhaust gas cleaning capacity and discharge water properties.
The huge amounts of operational data accumulated through those tests has been the groundwork for DIA-Sox® products today.
In the beginning, 6 engineers from both companies joined this development.
We shared the desire to create new products as engineers while suffering from various problems at an initial stage of the development, and eventually overcame interorganizational barriers and established elemental technologies.

[DIA-SOx® Development]