Centrifugal Disc Stack Separator for Marine SOx Scrubbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional scrubber systems for reducing sulphur oxides in marine diesel engine exhaust gases are large, expensive, and less efficient, requiring significant space and resources for installation and operation.
Innovation Solution
A method and installation utilizing a centrifugal separator rotor with a stack of narrowly spaced discs to separate reaction products and liquids from gases, where exhaust gases are treated with a high-pressure aerosol of sea water or alkaline solution, either directly or upstream, and then passed through the rotor to remove sulphur oxides efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional wet scrubber systems are used to reduce sulphur oxides in exhaust gases, then the sulphur oxide removal function is achieved, but the system becomes extremely large and expensive to manufacture and install
Solution Approach 1:
The scrubber system is divided into multiple smaller parallel channels or stages, each handling a portion of the exhaust gas flow. This segmentation allows the overall treatment function to be achieved through several compact units rather than one large monolithic structure, reducing the volume required for each individual component while maintaining total system capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional horizontal or vertical scrubber configurations to a three-dimensional packed bed structure where washing liquid is distributed throughout a volumetric matrix of packing material. This dimensional transformation allows the exhaust gas to percolate through the packing in a compact vertical arrangement, achieving high surface area contact between gas and liquid in a much smaller footprint than conventional horizontal scrubbers.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional wet scrubber systems are used to reduce sulphur oxides in exhaust gases, then the sulphur oxide removal function is achieved, but the manufacturing and installation costs become extremely high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs inexpensive packing materials such as plastic rings, spheres, or random packing that can be easily manufactured and replaced. These packing elements serve as disposable or easily replaceable components that provide the necessary surface area for gas-liquid contact without requiring expensive corrosion-resistant alloys or complex fabrication processes, thereby dramatically reducing manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes simple hydraulic distribution systems to spray washing liquid over the packing material and employs the natural buoyancy and flow of exhaust gases to move them through the packed bed. This eliminates the need for complex mechanical components, heavy-duty construction, and expensive installation procedures, making the overall system much more cost-effective to manufacture and install.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional scrubber systems are used to reduce sulphur oxides, then treatment is achieved, but the efficiency of reducing sulphur oxides is substantially lower compared to the inventive method
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses packed bed structures with high surface area to volume ratio, where the packing material creates a porous matrix that maximizes the contact surface between exhaust gas and washing liquid. This porous configuration provides numerous interfaces for sulphur oxide absorption, dramatically increasing the efficiency of pollutant removal per unit volume compared to conventional scrubber designs with limited contact surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous counter-current flow between exhaust gas rising through the packed bed and washing liquid flowing downward, ensuring that fresh washing liquid continuously contacts fresh exhaust gas throughout the entire packed bed volume. This continuous action maximizes the utilization of the washing liquid's absorption capacity and maintains high removal efficiency throughout operation, unlike batch or intermittent systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces sulphur oxide content in exhaust gases, providing a more compact, cost-effective, and efficient alternative to traditional scrubber systems, with improved manufacturing and installation costs and enhanced separation efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
causing a mixture containing gas, water and the reaction products to pass through a disc stack of at least one rotating centrifugal separator rotor so as to separate-out the reaction products and liquids from the gas due to centrifugal forces
Implementation Method 2
spraying, under high pressure, an aerosol of sea water with or without an alkaline addition, such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), into the flow of the exhaust gases... so as to bring the sea water aerosol or an aerosol including an alkaline solution to react with the sulphur oxides in the exhaust gases to generate disposable reaction products
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and installations for treatment of exhaust gases from marine diesel engines, in particular for reduction of the sulphur oxides (SOx) in such gases, where the reaction products resulting from the mixing of an alkaline aerosol with the exhaust gases are separated-out by means of one or more rotating centrifugal separator rotors (20) of the kind comprising a stack of narrowly spaced separation discs (22).