(Norfolk VA) W R Systems, Ltd. (WR) has been awarded a patent for its ‘Emsys’ Emissions Monitoring Technology. The patent was awarded for the unique ‘Outside the Stack’ Particulate Matter (PM) measurement technology. The Emsys system is designed to measure gaseous emissions such as NOX, SOX and CO2, as well as PM and Opacity. Measurement of the latter is becoming more prevalent, given the increasing focus on human health issues due to poor air quality as a direct result of ship emissions.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is currently discussing ‘black carbon’, a component of PM which is believed to be a direct cause of arctic ice shrinkage. It is generally accepted that regulations for PM are just around the corner.
The United States already enforces visible smoke emissions regulations for ships in port and in transit. It also has strict PM regulations for land-based emissions sources which may eventually affect shipping in the absence any IMO mandates.
Simon Brown, Director of International Maritime Business at WR, explains the reasons behind the patent award, ‘When we designed Emsys, our team carried out extensive market research into the emissions monitoring technologies that were deployed in the shipping industry. It soon became abundantly clear there were three significant drawbacks with these systems: First, they were unreliable and expensive to maintain; second, they were complicated and expensive to install; and third, they did not seem to anticipate the next regulatory challenges’.
He continues, ‘To overcome these obvious deficiencies, our team spent three years developing a system which uses combined laser and “outside the stack” PM measurement technology. The laser measures the gas “hot and wet”; therefore, we don’t need to have consumable filters, gas coolers and dryers. In addition, the laser doesn’t drift, meaning you don’t need to spend a fortune on calibration gas to keep the system in compliance. Emsys is designed to sit high up in the funnel space near where the exhausts all come together, this allows one sensor to measure up to 10 engines and boilers, meaning the install costs are significantly lower than the existing technologies. It also became apparent that owners were afraid of deploying emissions monitoring technology which may become obsolete given the inevitable introduction of new environmental regulations; therefore, we developed our PM and Opacity measurement capability in advance of these regulations. The patent has been awarded because our PM Sensor is totally unique. Instead of having a PM sensor in each exhaust, we utilise a single sensor inside Emsys to measure every stack. This eliminates a huge amount of cost, maintenance and complexity. It’s that far ahead of the curve that we decided to patent it!’
Emsys is achieving significant commercial success; recent contract awards include multiple scrubber monitoring applications, offshore drillship air permits and newbuild contracts in the Far East.
For more information, www.emsysmarine.com.
Emsys Laser Emissions & PM Monitoring System installed on-board a modern cruise liner
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