Norway's volatile organic compound recovery vessel concept gets ABS nod
Classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has approved in principle a novel vessel concept designed to recover volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from crude carriers and crude cargo ships.
PHOTO: 3D concept image of Vaholmen's volatile organic compound recovery vessel. Vaholmen
The concept was designed by a Norwegian trio comprising technology company Vaholmen, gas carrier designer Wärtsilä Gas Solutions (WGS) and ship designer Ulstein Design Solutions (Ulstein).
The vessel will be designed using Ulstein's newbuild vessels or retrofitting a large platform supply vessel (PSV) to serve this purpose, ABS said at the Nor-Shipping Exhibition in Oslo, Norway.
A pioneering approach
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemical compounds found in crude oil that evaporate during loading or transportation of highly volatile crude oil cargoes, explained WGS’ parent company Wärtsilä. “The cargo vapour needs to be vented to the atmosphere to prevent pressures in the tank from reaching dangerous levels."
PHOTO: Conceptual illustration of VOC recovery vessel in operation. Vaholmen
Vaholmen explained that VOC emissions from the exhaust pipe will be captured via a hose reel on the recovery vessel. The vapours will be stored on the vessel in a cooling plant that will condense and cool them into liquified VOCs (LVOCs) using compressors.
The LVOCs will be stored separately in pressurised tanks onboard the vessel, with a capacity of over 2,500-cbm. The incondensable hydrocarbons in vapours will be collected in gas turbines, which will be used to power the compressors and vessel. The vessel will be powered by a hybrid battery-gas turbine system.
An emerging market for LVOCs
LVOCs “can be monetised through injection into a stream of relevant hydrocarbons such as crude oil, as feedstock for powerplants, refineries or other use, as well as providing fuel for electrical power production on the Vaholmen unit,” explained ABS.
By Konica Bhatt
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