At the start of 2016, the inside of a scrubber was coated with Subsea Industries Ecospeed for the first time. Since then, the coating system was applied on the scrubber pipes, recycle tanks, outlets and diffusers of a large number of ships. When one of these came into drydock two years after application, the condition of the recycle tank surprised those involved that had not before seen the amazing results Ecospeed achieves.
The project manager of Zhejiang Energy Marine Environmental Technology (ZEME) was “extremely satisfied with the performance of the coating,” he said that “Ecospeed offered the best acid and alkali resistance compared to other brands of paint I used before.”
The Shipyard Paint Supervisor was shocked by the condition of the recycle tank coating. According to him he has never seen a coating in such good condition in a recycle tank as Ecospeed. “The coating is looking fresh after cleaning,” he says. “No hot work is needed before painting, and only several touch-ups are needed, with minimal paint work.”
“This really benefits the whole project’s progress,” said the Shiprepair Manager of Wenchong Shipyard. “There was always lots of steel work (renewals, welding repairs) before recoating a recycle tank. For this recycle tank, no steel plates needed to be renewed, no grit blasting, only cleaning with power tools and quick brush applications for spot repairs. This saves more than 10 days.”
Because of the tight regulations on emissions in the shipping industry, the installation of an exhaust scrubber system has become increasingly widespread. Due to the highly corrosive nature of the effluents from scrubbers, this unfortunately has also led to an increase of corrosion damage on scrubber pipes and outlets which can result in water ingress into the engine room, ballast tanks and cargo holds.
Ecospeed however is highly chemically resistant. Using the coating to protect the exterior outlets as well as the interiors of scrubbers prevents corrosion damage and its consequences.
Ecospeed is a lasting coating that will withstand the hazardous pollutants and protect the scrubbers for years to come.
If an existing scrubber suffers corrosion damage, it is not too late to repair it. Subsea Industries’ sister company Hydrex regularly replaces scrubber overboard pipes. This is done on-site without the ship needing to go to drydock.
In all cases, the new pipes installed by Hydrex are protected with Ecospeed. If no welding needs to be carried out near the coated area, the new pipes are coated in advance. If this is not an option, Ecospeed is applied after the new pipe is installed and all welding completed.
Pipes can also be replaced preemptively. If a pipe starts to corrode, a leak is just a matter of time. By performing the replacement before the leak occurs, a costly, unscheduled repair can be avoided.
Conclusion – Several benefits make Ecospeed the perfect choice to protect scrubbers.
- The coating system is highly chemically resistant. Considering the nature of the process taking place inside the scrubber, this is essential for our customers.
- Ecospeed lasts the lifetime of a vessel. No repainting will need to be scheduled during future dockings of the ship. At most some minor touch-ups may be required. This saves time and money.
- It is a true biocide-free solution. The coating is 100% non-toxic so there is no negative effect on the water quality or the marine environment at any point of its application or use.
