Wärtsilä Hamworthy VOC Recovery
Our field proven VOC recovery system is self supplied with energy and results in zero VOC emissions.
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from the global sea transportation of crude oil and associated products, account for a total of more than 5 million tons per year. The Wärtsilä Hamworthy VOC plant ensures that cargo tank pressures are maintained low enough to keep the vent valve closed. This prevents VOC from being emitted to the atmosphere, and the gas is instead fed to the VOC recovery module, where it is treated by compression and condensation. The liquefied gas is then fed to the VOC fuel tank.
We have also developed a for VOC recovery in offshore oil loading applications. It exceeds the Norwegian authorities’ requirements for NMVOCs by reducing VOC emissions by 100 per cent, including methane, which is not currently specified in the regulatory requirements.
A pilot plant was installed on the shuttle tanker Navion Viking, from which valuable operational experience was obtained. This enabled further optimisation of the system, and the first VOC condensation system with zero emissions was then installed on the shuttle tanker Stena Alexita, operated by ExxonMobil in the North Sea oil fields. As a result of this, Wärtsilä Hamworthy has been awarded the contract to supply six more of its VOC recovery plants to the Norwegian oil industry, thereby enabling full compliance with emission regulations.