With rising fuel costs, environmental regulations and the continuing shortage of qualified seagoing engineers to operate marine steam turbines, diesel propulsion continues to gain ground as a sound economical alternative to traditional steam propulsion
The growing global demand
As more countries look to LNG
According to industry estimates, approximately 85% of all LNG carriers using either two- or four-stroke dual fuel engines today have some type of combustion chamber to regulate the pressure in the cargo tanks by burning excess boil-off gas from the cargo tanks under safe and controlled conditions. With its recent acquisition of gas combustion technology from Snecma, part of the Safran Group,Alfa Laval is well positioned to meet the future needs of LNG carriers. The Alfa Laval GCU offers LNG ship owners a smart way to lower total cost of ownership further.
“The Alfa Laval GCU is not, by any means, new technology,” admits René Fich Jespersen, Alfa Laval’s General Manager, New Boiler & Global Sales Support, Marine & Diesel Division. “The big news here is that LNG ship owners can rely on Alfa Laval as a well-known partner who is focusing on providing what is essential
By extending the company’s broad portfolio of products and solutions
Why consider the Alfa Laval GCU over comparable gas combustion units? Jespersen says that the unit has the simplest design overallwith fewer parts than comparable systems, straight
“Only the burner, combustion chamber and monitoring sensors are in the stack of the Alfa Laval GCU,” says Jespersen. “The design philosophy behind the Alfa Laval GCU essentially shares the same approach as that of our heat exchangers, separators and other equipment and solutions; in other words, we always put great ef
Available in four standard sizes, Alfa Laval GCU handles capacities of 3, 4.5, 6 and 9 t/h methane using either single or dual combustion chambers. In addition, the Alfa GCU is approved by major classification societies, including American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, Det Norske Veritas and Lloyd’s Register.
According to Jespersen, the Alfa Laval GCU provides the LNG industry with the lowest possible operating expenditures
“The beauty of the Alfa Laval GCU is that it is by far a simpler and more reliable system than the other gas combustion units out there,” says Jespersen. “It is easier
Fewer parts translate into reduced installation and maintenance costs. Unlike other gas combustion units, the Alfa Laval gas combustion unit has low-noise fans that serve a dual purpose – both as combustion air fans as well as dilution air fans
Operating costs are reduced because the Alfa Laval GCU uses an electrical ignition device that enables fast start-up. This eliminates the requirement
Without the additional fans and oil system required
All this good news begs the question: Why then aren’t all LNG ship owners with DFDE or LSD engines installing Alfa Laval GCUs onboard? Jespersen is candid in his assessment.
“We often see that new technology has a very slow adoption rate in our industry, which makes sense because safety is the number one concern. However, new technology should not be confused with ‘unsafe’,” Jespersen states. “Using electronic ignitors on gas burners is often questioned, but Alfa Laval has been using these on our traditional gas burners
“Despite using a principle which differs from the traditional burners used on our boilers,
It is Jespersen’s belief that ship owners, operators and yards will benefit immediately from Alfa Laval’s acquisition of the LNG carrier gas combustion unit because they can now take full advantage of the company’s global sales and service network.
“The Alfa Laval GCU is a beautiful product as it is,” remarks Jespersen. “It is high on reliability, simplicity and safety, yet low on installation, operation and maintenance costs,” he adds.
The Alfa Laval GCU is available
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