Norway: Volstad Makes Its Vessels Eco-Friendly

Volstad has selected chemical free water treatment for all its engines and will save large volumes of chemical waste. “It has always been on our mind to look after the environment. That we save money at the same time is of course a bonus to us,” said Volstad.

Volstad Maritime, one of the majors in offshore shipping, is a real front runner in using new environmentallyproven technology and they have recently decided to change their engine and HVAC water treatment regime. In order to have functional systems, it is very important to treat the water cooling in the engines and in the HVAC systems. The old fashion way to do this is to use a chemical mixture to avoid corrosion, scaling and biofilm(bacteria). Volstad has discovered the Norwegian patented EnwaMatic® Technologywhen ordering the first ships in their latest series of new ships.

“When we ordered our two new vessels at Bergen Group Fosenthe central requirement to reduce emission to air and sea as much as possible was quite clear to us“, says Volstad Maritime

The protection of HVAC and engine cooling systems is a proactive step towards safeguarding the environment. As an alternative to chemical dosing, continuous treatment and filtration will prolong the system and component lifespan without risking the environment.

The instant that water enters the system it causes flash corrosion, and during operation it will form scaling, bacterial contamination and fouling. This has a significant impact on energy consumption, motor components and overall Life Cycle Cost (LCC). No more than 2 mm of rust can reduce heat transfer by 5% across component surfaces. Scale has an even more significant effect on the transfer efficiency with a small 0.5 mm layer generating as much as 4% in increased fuelconsumption

When specifying a water treatment regime consideration must be given to its efficiency, its whole life cycle cost, how easily it can be implemented and managed, and what potential risk it presents to personnel and the environment. A major worry for ship owners has been the fact that whenever an engine cooling system or an HVAC system is drained, the water has to be treated as special waste since chemicals are being used to avoid corrosion, scaling and bacteria.

Traditionally, water treatment for HVAC and engine water is done by adding different types of chemicals to balance the water quality and in order to avoid corrosion damages. Doing so, however, can cause localised pitting and accelerate corrosion. Contrary to this the EnwaMatic® technology is based on filtering and treating the water with minerals balancing, removing oxygen and neutralizing the water. The unit is fully automatic while it protects the engine or the HVAC system internals.

The EnwaMatic® Maritime water treatment unit combines reproducible principles of water chemistry with standard water treatment technologies. The unit provides effective dirt and air separation with environmentally sound water conditioning. It creates changes in key water parameters, such as pH, alkalinity and hardness, to elicit corrosion inhibition, control of scale formation and a biocidal effect.

Volstad informs that they are also using the EnwaMatic® technology on board theirnewly delivered offshore constructionvessel; Grand Canyon. They are so far very satisfied and have greatfaith inthe technology. Therefore they have now decided to install11 EnwaMatic® Maritime water treatment unitsin eachofthe two new buildingsat Bergen GroupFosen.

Svenn Lorentzen, Sales Manager Enwa AS, says: “The EnwaMatic® technology, treatingheating and cooling water in closed loops,is already in use in more than 5000 buildings in Europe alone.The recent move in to the maritime segment has already resulted in thedelivery to more than 50 ships. EnwaMatic® is also the recommended water treatment system by Wärtsilä, the world number one in ship engines.We see that the market demand for our EnwaMatic® and EnwaMatic® Maritime units is quite strong and promising, as more and more of both our existing and new customers order these environmentally friendly and energy effective water treatment systems. This technology is completely in line with the market trends and the future of both maritime and offshore related business, in addition to the land based market. We are very optimistic about the further development.”

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Volstad Maritime, January 8, 2014