Valmet has tested a scrubber and wet electrostatic precipitator combination and said it cuts exhaust gas emissions in a marine diesel engine by up to 99 percent.

Together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (VTT), Valmet said in a press release that it carried a pilot testing and configuration project that aims to allow shipping companies to lower their particle matter and black carbon emission .

The test was carried out on a scrubber and wet electrostatic precipitator combination and, according to the company, it can cut exhaust gas emissions in a marine diesel engine by up to 99 percent.

Juha Jokiluoma, who is the Product Manager of Marine Emission Control, said: “The solution we tested brings so many benefits that we believe it has great potential. Emission regulations are bound to tighten in the upcoming years. Valmet now has a solution that can be installed both on newbuilds and already operating vessels that still use conventional fuels. That enables shipping companies to significantly reduce particle emissions, while continuing their operation normally.”

In order to decrease the growing concerns of International Maritime Organization about the air pollution, Valmet has come up with a solution for reducing SOx and NOx emissions..

Whereas SOx scrubbers can reduce particulate matter and black carbon emissions with limited efficiency, a combination of a wet scrubber and a wet electrostatic precipitator could capture these emissions almost completely from a ship’s exhaust gas, Valmet said, in a press release.

Kati Lehtoranta, VTT’s Senior Scientist , added: ”At VTT, we had already studied the emissions of ships that have a marine scrubber installed. This way we had experience of the challenging measurement conditions related to scrubbers and also comparable data on the emission reduction potential of the new setup.”

Valmet added that it wants to continue its research and science-based results by allowing a more sustainable operating environment for the shipping industry.