Devil in the detail

In preliminary trials, AMECS technology has already been successfully tested on a number of vessels in the Port of Long Beach. Sulphur dioxide emissions from the vessels were reduced by 99%; 95% of particulate matter (PM) was removed; and 96% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were removed by the technology.

Using a specially designed crane, an AMECS ‘bonnet’ is lifted over and secured to the exhaust stack of a ship; the concept is sometimes known as a ‘sock on a stack’. The bonnet, which is designed to fit over a wide variety of ship stacks, collects the exhaust gas, which is conducted to a shore or barge mounted Emission Treatment System (ETS) where the pollutants are removed. The ETS uses a Pre-Conditioning Chamber (PCC), which removes particulate matter (PM) and water soluble VOCs. Cleaned water is re-circulated back to the PCC.

In the PCC, the water spray cools the exhaust gas and particles into larger agglomerations that are more efficiently captured in a Cloud Chamber Scrubber (CCS) developed by Tri-Mer Corporation, which removes the remaining PM, and sulphur oxides. A Selective Catalytic Reduction Reactor (SCR), provided by Argillon Corporation, removes NOx, and a Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) measures emissions into and out of the ETS.

In the barge-based system AMECS in preparing to build, the entire ETS and ECS are placed on the barge, and the barge moves from vessel to vessel.