Allweiler Pumps in Exhaust Gas Treatment Systems in Ships
As environmental regulations become more stringent, exhaust gas treatment systems are growing in importance. H+H Umwelt- und Industrietechnik GmbH of central Germany is an OEM customer who has been using Allweiler progressing cavity pumps as a core component of these systems since 2003. The company has been manufacturing catalytic exhaust gas treatment systems since 1998. Originally they focused on applications in block heating stations and industrial plants. But stricter environmental regulations introduced in Scandinavia and in the Baltic Sea in 2004 have boosted demand for shipborne systems. Introduction of a NOx tax in Norway has further increased demand. NOx-reduction systems are used on ships for the propulsion system’s heavy oil motor and for auxiliary equipment like power generators. The first of these systems produced by H+H was commissioned in 2005. Since 2004, the company has been the global market leader for maritime Selective Catalytic Reduction systems (SCR) with a market share of approximately 80%. Currently about 600 of these single systems, known by the name “EcoMarin”, are operational on 160 ships.
Turnkey Systems
According to the company’s founders, Alexander Hommen and Michael Heck, the success of H+H is based on four factors. First is their global service. Approximately 20 agents and service centers ensure rapid reactions regardless of where a ship is currently located. Second, the company delivers fully assembled, fully tested systems that are ready for immediate deployment. “We provide turnkey systems, including a complete maintenance package, such as a catalyst replacement plan,” according to M. Heck. And H+H is fast – the third factor in its success. “We design every system ourselves, configure it for the specific ship it will be used in, and assemble the whole thing here.” The company’s years of experience with catalytic processes are the foundation of their strategy. Even before the company was founded, three of the four managing directors were active in this area. Fourth, fast and reliable suppliers are essential to making this approach work.
Pulsation-free pumping
Progressing cavity pumps from Allweiler AG, a Colfax business unit, play a major role in the finished products. These pumps feed urea to the SCR system’s dosing panels. The urea is heated to a high temperature in the exhaust gas. The resulting ammonia serves as a reducing agent in the system. Due to the difficulty of storing ammonia, it is not possible to simply keep the material onboard the ship in “ready-to-use” form.
Allweiler pumps continuously circulate urea in a closed loop; excessive amounts of the material are fed back into the tank. A major advantage of these pumps is their pulsation-free pumping characteristics. Even when starting, they do not produce pressure surges that could damage the system.
Rapid Delivery
Allweiler’s tremendous flexibility and ability to react quickly to individual requirements were key factors in H+H’s decision to use Allweiler for these critical components. Speed and flexibility are particularly important for shipborne systems. For example, power supplies on ships can vary between 230 and 690 V, so having the right pump motor is very important. In many cases, H+H has only eight to ten weeks from the time an order is placed until the system is delivered, so fast reactions and direct contact with the supplier are essential. The pumped liquids (32% to 40% urea and 12% to 24% ammonia water) are very demanding on the pump materials. Allweiler manufactures its own stators and can choose the best possible combination from 20 different materials. Other parts that contact the pumped liquid directly, such as the joint collar, are also made of specially adapted materials to give them an extended service life. Pump casings are made of stainless steel. These configurations allow the pumps to achieve continuous operating times of 8000 hours or more.
The pumps operate continuously instead of being controlled by frequency converters. Frequency converter controls have proven to be too sensitive and complex for practical applications. They also influence the ship’s power supply network. In this configuration and installation, the systems and pumps even meet the high requirements of military applications and have already been installed in several naval vessels.
Allweiler progressing cavity pumps
Allweiler progressing cavity pumps of the “ANBP” and “AEB” series in block design are used in the pump stations. These pumps are equipped with dry running protection. Capacity of the pumps is between 600 and 4000 liters/hour with pressure up to 9 bar. The pumps draw urea from the tank up to 4 m away.
Managing Director Michael Heck displays a model of an anchor-handling supply ship equipped with an H+H exhaust gas treatment system. To the right of the model are examples of honeycomb catalysts like those used in these systems.
Requirements: Short-term delivery of individually configured pumps for pulsation-free pumping of urea in catalytic exhaust gas treatment systems.
Solution: Allweiler progressing cavity pumps
Result: Turnkey systems with Allweiler pumps are ready for delivery within eight to ten weeks.
Jon Berggren
Market Manager - Commercial Marine
Anti-Heeling – optimized cargo handling
The Anti Heeling System enables optimized & continuous loading or unloading for container vessels or similar ships in
a much reduced time. Normally, the heeling compensation is automatically achieved by continual measurement of the heeling angle. However, when unloading under tough conditions such as off an offshore supply vessel, the heeling system has to be manually operated. Under those conditions a reliable and fast responding system is of high importance. Today Colfax offers an anti-heeling pump ALLTRIMM® with enhanced capacity as a part of the solution for the application.
This in-line propeller pump contains reversible hydraulics. Its electric motor with enhanced power is integrated into the pump lobe and is designed by standard parts from a German manufacturer. As a result, the pump requires neither a costly valve controller nor a coupling and a transmission.
ALLTRIMM® is available in a single or a twin-stage version with a flow range of 300 to 1200m3/hour and a pump head of 10 meters (single stage) to 20 meters (twin stage; as shown in the picture). Two motor sizes cover the above-mentioned performance range. The sectional drawing depicts the twin-stage version. For more information please click here
Jon Berggren
Market Manager – Commercial Marine
Reliable leakage detection for mechanical seals
To operate properly, every mechanical seal requires a lubricating film between the sliding surfaces. 
This film is formed by the pumping medium itself. Elevated pressure inside the inlet chamber continuously pushes a small amount of lubricant out through the sliding surfaces. Colfax recently introduced a smart leakage detection system for precise monitoring called ALLSEAL.
A coupling bracket captures the standard leakage escaping from the pump. The optoelectronic sensor ALLSEAL with an infrared LED and a light receiver is located in the bracket wall. Light from the LED is directed from inside to the sensor‘s prism tip and is reflected from there to the light receiver. If the standard leakage in the coupling bracket reaches the fixed maximum, it will enclose the prism tip. So light reaches the light receiver not at all or only faintly. ALLSEAL reacts to this change immediately with a switching operation.
Trouble-free cost reduction.
The absence or insufficient formation of the lubricating film leads to defective mechanical seals and thus costly pump failures. The ALLSEAL maintenance indicator will warn you on time about the condition of your pump. Thus, you will have enough time to avoid serious pump failures by using a combined emergency stop controller.
Benefits:
- Very cost effective smart solution for monitoring a mechanical seal
- Unnecessary and unplanned system downtimes can be avoided
- No environmental contamination
- Compliance with safety regulations (e.g. SOLAS)
for more information click here
Jon Berggren
Market Manager – Commercial Marine