SOLVAir® Marine, Solvay’s sodium-based exhaust gas treatment process for ships using Heavy Fuel Oil, has obtained the Solar Impulse Foundation’s Efficient Solution Label. The label highlights existing solutions that are both sustainable and profitable, enabling decision-makers to find efficient solutions that help them meet their environmental commitments.
Marine uses a sodium-based sorbent to control air emissions from ships. It is the first dry sorbent injection system for use on vessels, cleaning exhaust gases without the need for wash water. The sorbent is environmentally friendly and non-toxic, meaning that it can be easily handled without risk to the ship’s crew or passengers.
Fully compliant with International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020 regulations for SOx emissions reduction, the sorbent neutralizes harmful emissions as soon as it comes into contact with exhaust gases, eliminating up to 100% of SOx emissions. In anticipation of expected regulations on particle emissions, it also removes more than 99% of the particles produced by diesel engines. The reaction products resulting from the treatment are classified as non-hazardous and can be easily and safely treated on land, ensuring that no effluents are released into the sea or air.
In 2019, the Piana, which is operated by French ferry company La Méridionale, became the first vessel to be equipped with the SOLVAir® Marine process, using the SeaSox Dual Filtration system developed and supplied by Andritz. In late 2021, following six months of real-life testing and fine-tuning, the Piana’s four main engines were fully retrofitted with a dry sorbent injection system and particle filters, ensuring that the ship’s exhaust is now almost completely free of pollutants.
SOLVAir® Marine is the 14th Solvay product to be labeled as an Efficient Solution. Other Solvay products to receive the label include solutions for batteries, semiconductor applications, thermoset composites for high-volume automotive applications, rare earth-based formulations, biostimulants for farming and wastewater adsorbents. These solutions benefit industries such as water, energy and agriculture and are representative of the goals set out in the Solvay One Planet sustainability roadmap.