Category: Industry Trends

Introduction

The Alfa Laval ThinkTop V20 valve indication unit offers reliable,

cost-effective operation of hygienic valves. It provides standard

functionality for intuitive sensing of the valve position and status,

displayed on the unit’s 360° light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It also

provides convenient real-time valve position monitoring and easy

access to historical data, making process control more reliable

and accurate while saving time and money on installation,

commissioning, operation and maintenance.

Application

Purpose-designed to digitalize essential on-off valve monitoring,

the ThinkTop V20 is the first pure valve-sensing device that is

maintenance-free and does not require manual adjustment or

programming. It meets standard process system requirements for

sensing and displaying the fluid handling status. It senses and

indicates the valve position and status in fluid handling processes

in hygienic applications across the dairy, food, beverage, home

and personal care, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and many

other industries.

As the marine industry evolves, there are still good reasons to choose a SOx scrubber.

Alfa Laval PureSOx offers economical fuel sulphur compliance, both with global limits

and with those in the expanding number of Emission Control Areas (ECAs).

Effective in open-loop or closed-loop scrubbing, PureSOx can be delivered as a hybrid

scrubber system with both open-loop and closed-loop modes. Just as importantly,

it comes with Alfa Laval’s long experience and global service backing.

Alfa Laval is your partner in SOx compliance

• Over 100 years of marine industry experience – including over 50 years of marine

scrubber experience

• Proven removal of SOx (>98%) and particulate matter through exhaust gas cleaning

• Hundreds of marine scrubbers in proven SOx compliance worldwide

• A truly global network for scrubber service and support, offering scrubber spare parts,

scrubber training, scrubber maintenance and more

• Opportunities for continuous scrubber optimization

Since the first PureSOx scrubber system went to sea in 2009. Alfa Laval has kept vessels

in fuel sulphur compliance and SOx scrubbers working at their best. Besides having lower

fuel costs, PureSOx owners benefit from Alfa Laval’s long experience, high production

quality and deep scrubber knowledge.

Alfa Laval is your partner in SOx compliance

• Over 100 years of marine industry experience – including over 50 years of marine

scrubber experience

• Proven removal of SOx (>98%) and particulate matter through exhaust gas cleaning

• Hundreds of marine scrubbers in proven SOx compliance worldwide

• A truly global network for scrubber service and support, offering scrubber spare parts,

scrubber training, scrubber maintenance and more

• Opportunities for continuous scrubber optimization

Since the first PureSOx scrubber system went to sea in 2009. Alfa Laval has kept vessels

in fuel sulphur compliance and SOx scrubbers working at their best. Besides having lower

fuel costs, PureSOx owners benefit from Alfa Laval’s long experience, high production

quality and deep scrubber knowledge.

PureSOx scrubber systems are compact and handle multiple exhaust gas sources.

They are available in open-loop, closed-loop or hybrid scrubber configurations, with Alfa

Laval’s leading water treatment technology to support closed-loop operation. Installed

smoothly on hundreds of vessels, all PureSOx systems are in compliance today.

Consequently, their owners continue to trust Alfa Laval for regular service and ongoing

optimization.

Alfa Laval decanter centrifuges support solid-liquid separation in a seamless, continuous process.

Stand out from the competition with high-performance separation that delivers clarified or

extracted products of exceptional quality and superior commercial value. Recover valuable raw

materials, reduce energy consumption, and lower your environmental footprint and waste

management costs—always backed by service expertise for optimal performance and long-term

reliability of your decanter separator.

Experience maximum solid-liquid separation efficiency

• High-performance separation, resulting in high-value products and low waste management costs

• Lower energy consumption and carbon footprint

• Minimal maintenance costs thanks to continuous operation, high-grade machine materials,

smart design and well-thought preventive services

• Low capital cost/capacity ratio

• Wide-ranging feed variations and controllable performance

A comprehensive range of decanters for water, food and energy industries

Solid-liquid separation is a common manufacturing process in countless industries, and Alfa Laval

has over 60 years of experience using decanter centrifuges to meet this requirement.

Their operation makes use of centrifugal force – the effect can be up to 4000 times greater

compared to using gravitational forces.

Alfa Laval uses high-grade stainless steel for all parts in contact with the solid-liquid separation

process to prevent corrosion. High-stress rotating components are machined from high-strength

centrifugally cast stainless steel – ensuring uniform, flaw-free castings and weld-free components

for maximum strength, reliability, and long service life. Wear-prone areas, such as the feed zone,

solids discharge output zone, bowl, and scroll, are protected by abrasion-resistant materials tailored

to each industrial process. Continual refinement of the seal technology used in Alfa Laval decanter

separators is ensured by our technological resources for superior performance.

Tailored configurations

The Aalborg XWi boiler drum can be integrated with electrical

heating elements to utilize shore power connection for steam

generation while on port. The heating surface configuration is

flexible. The energy efficiency of the system can be increased

by adding tube section for feed water preheating and/or

superheating as well as hot water generation. The design of

the heating surface can be tailored to the actual engine and

operating conditions, maintaining sufficient exhaust gas velocity

for the best self-cleaning effects within the design limits.

How it works

Natural circulation refers to the ability of fluid in a system to

circulate by means of gravity and density differences. In the

Aalborg XWi, circulation begins naturally when the engine starts

and ends naturally when the engine stops. Water remains inside

the heating surface tubes, which prevents the risk of a soot fire,

and energy loss is minimized because there is no unnecessary

circulation during standstill.

Because water only circulates through the Aalborg XWi when the

engine is running, no heat is lost to the cold air that flows through

the boiler when the engine is stopped. This means less use of the

fired boiler, with lower fuel costs and emissions as a result.

When the circulation is stopped, water fills the boiler tubes. This

minimizes the risk for soot fires, which can occur with forced

circulation. In forced circulation, typical system arrangement and

sudden changes in engine load often lead to problems in water

circulation, such as pump cavitation, which can cause a soot fire

within the system.

Design

The Aalborg XWi has the same heat transfer features as a

traditional exhaust gas boiler with forced circulation, but its

special design eliminates safety risks, heat losses, continuous

maintenance needs and pump operating costs.

The heating surface of the Aalborg XWi is made up of gilled

water tubes as standard, with a construction that minimizes soot

build-up. In addition, the system can be equipped with optimized

steam sootblowers. Design pressure and boiler capacity can be

optimized according to specific needs.

The boiler can be designed with its own integrated steam

drum, or with a separate steam drum. There are no operational

connections to fired boilers, which means more redundancy, but

still considerably less piping. The boiler’s own dedicated water

circulation system eliminates the risk of water hammering.

Key Benefits

• Simple, reliable operation based on natural circulation,

without pumps or rotating components

• Maximized safety, minimized risk of soot fires

• Minimal heat losses

• No circulation pumps to operate or maintain – avoid pump

electricity consumption and continuous maintenance costs

• Reduced total installation and material costs

• Clear responsibility limit – including piping between the boiler

and the drum

• Increased system redundancy

• Potential integration of electrical steam generation while

engine is not running

• Modular design enabling tailored configurations, including

selectable multi-stage heating solutions

Introduction

The Alfa Laval Aalborg XWi is an exhaust gas steam boiler with

an integrated natural circulation system. Natural circulation

uses physical phenomena to drive the water through the boiler

unit, which removes the need for circulation pumps.

The Aalborg XWi offers considerable savings and optimal

operational safety, as confirmed by the positive feedback from

customers.

The Aalborg XWi offers savings in waste heat recovery systems

on vessels that have four-stroke engines and are frequently

put in to harbour, such as cruise vessels and passenger ferries.

The Aalborg XWi eliminates all typical problems associated

with forced circulation systems, such as cavitation, water

hammering, and operation and main tenance losses.

Benefits of natural circulation

• Lower capital expenditure (CAPEX)

• Lower operational expenditure (OPEX)

• Maximized uptime and operational safety

• Lower parasitic electricity consumption for steam generation

• Easy boiler water chemistry control. Tolerant to varying

make-up water quality and no need for condensate

polishing

• Lower weight and less crowded layout due to simpler

circulation line piping when compared to conventional

forced-circulation systems

Extended scope

Alfa Laval’s supply comprises a high number of in-house

products beyond the HRSGs themselves, such as plate heat

ex-changers, steam drums, feed-water deaerator tanks,

condensate tanks, blow-down tanks and solutions for boiler water

chemistry management. The remaining equipment, such as

pumps, instrumentation and valves, are sourced from reputable

makers who are suitable for the offshore environment and your

specification levels. The wide internal scope, combined with Alfa

Laval steam system expertise, ensures professional customer

support – all the way from concept development to ser-vice

requirements over the solution lifetime.

For more information on Alfa Laval’s overall steam system  offering

for the offshore market, please see our “Offshore steam systems

and services” brochure.