Air pollution control system for ocean-going vessels

• US 8,327,631 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2005
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Greener Port Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: Advanced Environmental Group LLC
• Inventors: Caro, Sal, Ottsen, Henning, Powell, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Denion, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, DIEM T
• Application Number:
  US11/092,477
• Publication Number:
  US 20060213197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,815 Days
• Field of Search: 602/74, 602/86, 602/97, 603/01, 603/03, 603/11, 603/20, 440/89.A, 440/89.R, 440/113
• US Class Current: 60/297
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/302 Sulfur oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/708 Volatile organic compounds V.O.C.'s
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2258/012 Diesel engines and lean burn gasoline engines
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/92 of engine exhaust gases exhaust or silencing apparatus for internal combustion engines, machines or engines in general, having means for purifying, rendering innocuous or otherwise treating exhaust gases F01N3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 15/02 using chambers or hoods covering the area B08B15/002 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 35/44 Floating buildings, stores, drilling platforms, or workshops, e.g. carrying water-oil separating devices construction methods for floating offshore platforms B63B75/00
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 21/32 Arrangements of propulsion power-unit exhaust uptakes; Funnels peculiar to vessels
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 13/009 having two or more separate purifying devices arranged in series
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2240/02 a heat exchanger
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2590/02 for marine vessels or naval applications
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2610/02 the substance being ammonia or urea
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2610/10 the substance being heated, e.g. by heating tank or supply line of the added substance
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 3/2066 Selective catalytic reduction [SCR]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies

Abstract

A platform mounted emissions control unit includes a first system to reduce Particulate Matter (PM), Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and a second system to reduce Oxides of Nitrogen (NO_x). The systems serially process exhaust from a mobile or stationary pollution source. In one embodiment, first system is an Ionizing Wet Scrubber (IWS) and the second system is a Selective Catalytic Reducer (SCR), wherein the IWS processes the exhaust first to improve efficiency and service life of the SCR. A generator produces power required by the IWS and SCR, and heat from exhaust of the generator may be used convert urea to ammonia for use by the SCR, and to heat the exhaust flow into the SCR. The SCR may further include a heat exchanger to capture heat in the flow out of the SCR and use the captured heat to heat the flow into the SCR.

Claims

1. A method for cleaning Ocean Going Vessel (OGV) exhaust, the method comprising:

capturing the exhaust of the OGV;

carrying the exhaust to a first system of a maritime emissions control system;

processing the exhaust in the first system to first reduce the temperature of the exhaust and then to process the reduced temperature flow to generate a first processed flow with reduced Particulate Matter (PM) and reduced Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂);

carrying the first processed flow to a second system of the maritime emissions control system;

heating the first processed flow, increase the temperature of the first processed flow;

processing the heated first processed flow in the second system to generate a second processed flow with reduced NO_x; and

releasing the second processed flow to the atmosphere.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein carrying the exhaust to the first system comprises carrying the exhaust to an Ionizing Wet Scrubber (IWS).

3. The method of claim 1, further including a heat exchanger capturing heat from the second processed flow and transferring the heat to first processed flow before heating the first processed flow.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein carrying the exhaust to the second system comprises carrying the exhaust to a Selective Catalytic Reducer (SCR).

5. The method of claim 4, further including:

providing power for operation of the first system and the second system using a generator producing hot generator exhaust;

mixing the hot generator exhaust with the flow into the SCR to increase the efficiency of the SCR; and

extracting heat from a gaseous discharge of the SCR and transferring the heat to the gaseous inlet to the SCR.

6. A maritime emissions control system comprising:

an Ocean Going Vessel (OGV) producing a dirty main exhaust flow;

a platform selected from a land based platform, barge and a vessel;

an emissions control system carried by the platform;

support apparatus carried by the platform;

a duct carried by the support apparatus, the duct disconnectably connectable to the OGV to place the main exhaust flow from the OGV in fluid communication with the emissions control system carried by the platform, the emissions control system sequentially comprising;

a Particulate Matter (PM) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) reduction system mounted to the platform and connected in fluid communication to the duct to receive the main exhaust flow from the OGV and to first cool the exhaust and second process the cooled exhaust to reduce PM and SO₂ in the main exhaust flow to produce a first processed flow from the first system; and

an NO_x reduction system mounted to the platform and connected to the PM and SO₂ reduction system to receive the first processed flow, first into a heater adding heat to the first processed flow, and then to reduce NO_x in the heated first processed flow to produce a second processed flow.

7. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein the first system includes an ionizer to reduce PM and a wet scrubber to reduce SO₂ in the main exhaust flow.

8. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein the first system is further adapted to reduce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the main exhaust flow.

9. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein power for operation of the emissions control system is generated by a diesel generator and generator exhaust from the diesel generator is processed by the second system.

10. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein the first system is selected from a group consisting of an Ionizing Wet Scrubber (IWS) and a cloud chamber scrubber.

11. The emissions control unit of claim 10, wherein the first system is an IWS.

12. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein the second system is selected from a group consisting of a low temperature SCR and a mid temperature SCR.

13. The emissions control unit of claim 12, wherein the second system is a mid temperature SCR.

14. The emissions control unit of claim 12, wherein the second system includes a catalyst material comprising a titanium vanadium tungsten compound.

15. The emissions control unit of claim 12, wherein the second system includes a core comprising a honeycomb structure containing materials to support the reactions required to reduce NO_x.

16. The emissions control unit of claim 12, wherein the second system includes a core comprising a granular media structure containing materials to support the reactions required to reduce NO_x.

17. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein the first system receives the main exhaust flow containing PM, SO₂, and NO_x, and produces the first processed flow having reduced PM and SO₂ and containing NO_x, and the second system receives the first processed flow having reduced PM and SO₂ and containing NO_x and produces the second processed flow having reduced PM, SO₂, and NO_x.

18. The emissions control unit of claim 17, wherein the emissions control unit further including a quench tower for cooling the main exhaust flow before the first system receives the main exhaust flow.

19. The emissions control unit of claim 18, wherein the quench tower reduced the temperature of the exhaust flow to between 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

20. The emissions control unit of claim 6, wherein the first system and the second system operate from power generated by a diesel generator carried on the platform.

21. The emissions control unit of claim 20, wherein:

the second system is a Selective Catalytic Reducer (SCR); and

generator exhaust from the diesel generator is mixed with urea to produce ammonia for use with the SCR.

22. The emissions control unit of claim 20, wherein:

the second system is a Selective Catalytic Reducer (SCR); and

generator exhaust from the diesel generator is mixed with aqueous ammonia to produce ammonia for use with the SCR.

23. A maritime emissions control system comprising:

an Ocean Going Vessel (OGV) producing a dirty main exhaust flow;

an Emissions Control System (ECS);

support apparatus for the ECS;

a duct carried by the support apparatus, the duct disconnectably connectable to the OGV to place the main exhaust flow from the OGV in fluid communication with the ECS, the ECS sequentially comprising;

a quench tower in direct fluid communication with the duct producing a cooled exhaust flow;

a particle reduction apparatus in fluid communication with the quench tower, selected from selected from a group consisting of an Ionizing Wet Scrubber (IWS), a cloud chamber scrubber, a wet electrostatic precipitator, an electrostatic precipitator, a scrubber, an absorption devices, a mechanical separator, a filter, a thermal device, and a plasma reactor to process the cooled exhaust to reduce Particulate Matter (PM) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) in the main exhaust flow to produce a first processed flow from the first system;

a heating apparatus connected in fluid communication with the particle reduction apparatus, to increase the temperature of the first processed flow;

an NO_x reduction apparatus selected from a group consisting of a low temperature Selective Catalytic Reducer (SCR), a mid temperature SCR, a non-selective catalytic reducer, a plasma based NO_x, reduction system, an ionization based NO_x, reduction system, a thermal NO_x, reduction system, a photochemical based NO_x reduction system, a chemical NO_x, reduction system, and an electrochemical based NO_x, reduction system, connected in fluid communication with the heating apparatus, to receive the heated first processed flow and to reduce NO_x, in the heated first processed flow to produce a clean second processed flow; and

a heat exchanger capturing heat from the second processed flow and transferring the heat to first processed flow before heating the first processed flow.