Italian company Ecospray Technologies, part of the Carnival Group, uses ABB’s motors and drives in marine air and gas cleaning systems installed on cruise ships, ferries and freighters. Ship owners are installing scrubbers in response to the low-emission fuel targets set by the International Maritime Organization. From January 1, 2020, ships must use fuel with a with a sulphur content of no more than 0.5% instead of the current 3.5% or adopt exhaust gas purification systems to achieve compliance.
Cleaning systems need to be reliable, particularly for cargo vessels which can be at sea for up to four weeks at a time. Ecospray has installed more than 250 scrubbers on 100 vessels since 2012, and uses ABB’s motors – predominantly the M3BP and M3BA range – in the majority of these units.
“We chose ABB motors because of their reliability," said Alberto Di Cecio, Ecospray’s Marine Operations Manager. “We have never experienced any issues when it comes to these products. We also appreciate ABB’s responsive service." Di Cecio also notes that ABB’s ACS880 variable speed drives are particularly robust and have operated smoothly as part of the onboard electrical system.
Marine-certified ACS880 drives are also efficient. Combining the drive with ABB’s high-efficiency motors can deliver energy savings to ship operators. The drives also reduce noise and vibrations in motor installations.
Ecospray has also started to use ABB’s emission monitoring systems and has tested instrumentation equipment including differential pressure sensors and pH meters. “Our partnership with ABB is growing considerably stronger," said Di Cecio.