Q & A: CEMS Applications in the Marine Industry, with Andreas Heublein

1. What is your primary focus in the Marine Market?

Westfalen/Heublein provide specialty gas mixtures for the calibration of Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems for marine shipping industry.

2. Is it a requirement for ships to monitor their stacks for emissions?

Yes, under the MARPOL Directive all ships globally must comply with the use of low sulphur fuels, effective January 1, 2020. Part of the requirement is to measure their emissions.

3. What is MARPOL and what is Annex V1?

MARPOL, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, is concerned with preventing marine pollution from ships. Specifically, Annex VI of MARPOL addresses air pollution from ocean-going ships. The international air pollution requirements of Annex VI establish limits on nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions and require the use of fuel with lower sulfur content. Each country will have a government agency responsible for regulating and implementing the directive.

4. What are the key benefits of Heublein/Westfalen?

Quality is number one. All our gas mixtures are manufactured to ISO 17025 production. We provide ISO products under the control of international rules and authorities.  All our products are made in Germany.

With ISO 17025 we fulfill the MARPOL regulation and the European Directive for Marine Equipment. We provide long term stability of the calibration gas mixtures with low uncertainties to meet the requirements of measuring gas emissions onboard ships.   Low quality calibration gas can lead to poor exhaust analyzer results or expensive scrubber overhaul without need.

5. Can you tell us a bit more about the products and services you provide for the marine market?

We provide the marine calibration gases in a special shock resistant mobile carrier along with the required regulators, tubing, and instructions. This allows the equipment to be stored safety and provides the customer with everything they require when calibration of their gas analyser is needed. All the equipment is aluminum or stainless steel to protect against corrosion from the elements. We supply calibration gas for every CEMS manufacturer including Hubei, Sick, Knestel, Feen Marine, Saacke, Green Instruments, Vimex and Seimens, to name a few.

Part of our program is to supply gas mixtures through our global logistics.  This is done through many partners including CAC GAS based in Singapore and Sydney.  We stock product in key locations globally for timely delivery.  This allows us to provide renew / exchange cylinders for customers, so we become a long-time supply and service partner.

6. What is the typical frequency for calibration of the analysers and how much gas is consumed during the calibration?

According to MARPOL regulations the calibration gas must be renewed annually. Many ports will require calibration and test results prior to entry to the port so calibration is completed much more frequently than once per year.  On average each calibration takes 5L gas.

The analyser protocol will be checked by the seaport inspectors. If there are difficulties, the inspector may complete an extra calibration on board by himself.  The seaport inspector will refer to the analyser performance which should be in accordance with the MARPOL regulations.

7. Each analyser manufacturer has its own sensor range and gas mix.  Can the analysers be adjusted to other calibration gas concentrations if we do not have these in stock?

Most of the analyser companies require specific gas concentrations for calibration as it is built into their software. As a result we supply a variety of gas mixtures to match the nominated calibration criteria.  Some analysers use the same sensors which means the calibration gas is the same concentration.

Below are examples of some of the gas mixtures we supply.

8. Are different regulators required with different flow/pressure requirements for each of the different gas analysers?

The regulator provided in the ISO 17025 Marine Emissions Kit can be used for all the gas mixtures supplied by Heublein. The flow range of the analysers are quite similar.

9. Where in MARPOL regulations does it dictate that ISO 17025 gas is required?

You can find the MARPOL regulation for ISO 17025 here, on page 38. Every member country also mandates their own local laws and regulations.

10. What is your delivery time for these mixtures?

The production time is 6 weeks. The delivery time of stocked gases to worldwide main ports is about 7-10 days (including weekends). From countries, such as Singapore, Germany, Italy, and Netherlands where product is stocked, delivery is 2-3 days to their own ports. To other EU countries from Germany deliver is 7-10 days.