Ship Scrubber Cooling and Segmented Scrubbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ship flue gas scrubbing technologies face challenges in efficiently reducing sulfur dioxide emissions at high temperatures while maintaining low operational costs, due to limitations in gas-liquid contact area, pressure loss, and corrosion issues, leading to inefficient scrubbing and increased energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A ship flue gas scrubbing apparatus and method that separates cooling and scrubbing into two distinct steps, using a cooler to reduce high temperature flue gas before it enters a scrubbing layer with fillings, enhancing gas-liquid contact area and reducing pressure loss, while avoiding re-heating to minimize corrosion and operational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high temperature flue gas is directly scrubbed with seawater, then scrubbing efficiency is improved, but the fillings and equipment suffer from high temperature damage and corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the scrubbing process into two separate stages: a cooling stage where high temperature flue gas is cooled by seawater without fillings, and a scrubbing stage where cooled gas (below 80°C) passes through fillings for efficient pollutant removal. This segmentation protects fillings from high temperature damage while maintaining scrubbing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary cooling action before the main scrubbing operation. By first cooling the flue gas through a cooling section with seawater flow, the gas temperature is reduced to a safe level (below 80°C) before it enters the scrubbing section with fillings, preventing thermal damage to the fillings and equipment.
2Productivity
If fillings are used in the scrubber, then gas-liquid contact area is increased and scrubbing efficiency is improved, but pressure loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scrubber into a cooling section without fillings (low pressure loss) and a scrubbing section with fillings (high scrubbing efficiency). This segmentation allows the system to achieve both low overall pressure loss and high scrubbing efficiency by placing fillings only where needed for pollutant removal.
3Reliability
If flue gas is cooled before scrubbing, then equipment corrosion is reduced, but additional cooling equipment and space are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling function and scrubbing function into a single integrated device. The cooling section uses seawater flow to cool flue gas, and the scrubbing section uses the same seawater (now cooler) with fillings to remove pollutants. This combination achieves corrosion protection without requiring completely separate cooling and scrubbing equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the scrubber device multi-functional by incorporating both cooling and scrubbing capabilities in one unit. The seawater serves dual purposes: first as a cooling medium, then as a scrubbing liquid. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate equipment while maintaining corrosion resistance.
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 achieves high scrubbing efficiency, reducing sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides by 99% and 20%, respectively, with a pressure loss less than 110 mm of water column, and significantly lowers operational and manufacturing costs, making seawater scrubbing a practical and effective method for ship emission reduction.
Implementation Method 1
A cooler for cooling high temperature flue gas is provided in a flue gas passage between the flue gas inlet outside the housing of the flue gas leading pipe and the scrubbing layer
Implementation Method 2
A scrubbing layer having fillings is fixed within the housing at an upper part of the housing
Implementation Method 3
enhancing gas-liquid contact area and reducing pressure loss
Data Source
AI summary
A ship flue gas scrubbing apparatus and scrubbing method are provided. The apparatus includes a housing, an upper scrubbing layer at the upper side inside the housing, and a liquid collecting pool in the lower side inside the housing, a flue gas leading-in port between the scrubbing layer and the liquid collecting pool, a scrubbing seawater inlet above the scrubbing layer, and a cooler located at a flue gas passage between the flue gas inlet outside the housing and the scrubbing layer. The method includes leading flue gas, cooling, injecting scrubbing seawater, scrubbing and other steps.