When heavy fossil fuels are used in combustion processes to run ship engines and boilers, they release SO2 or SO3 as part of the exhaust gas. These sulfur oxides react easily with other elements to form harmful compounds such as sulfuric acid that have the potential to negatively affect human health and the environment. Due to these potential effects, control of this compound in marine flue gases is essential to stay in compliance with the new International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) SOx emission regulations.

There are different types of reliable “wet” scrubber systems to control these emissions: open-type, closed, or hybrid systems. The open-type system uses seawater for scrubbing of marine engine exhaust gas while the closed loop system uses freshwater that has been treated with an alkaline chemical for neutralization and scrubbing. The scrubber spray nozzles are able to effectively and reliably distribute these waters into exhaust cleaning vessels. By creating uniform patterns of properly sized droplets, these nozzles are able to effectively create the surface area needed for proper absorption while minimizing entrainment of the scrubbing water into the flue gas.