Wärtsilä to bring shipping waste management into digital age

At this year’s Nor-Shipping conference and exhibition, the technology group Wärtsilä will be highlighting its development work on a smart concept for onboard water and waste systems.

The work involves combining the latest environmental technology and process expertise with real-time data collection and digital modelling. This is made possible by Wärtsilä having the marine industry’s most extensive portfolio of waste and water treatment solutions, and a unique offering in digital tools such as data collection units and route planning.

“Wärtsilä continues to be ahead of the curve in adapting digital technology and connectivity to deliver solutions to the marine industry that are more efficient, safer, and environmentally sustainable. Our development work with this smart water and waste treatment system represents a key component within the Smart Marine Ecosystem that will ensure a successful future for our customers,” says Arto Lehtinen, Director, Water & Waste, Wärtsilä Marine.

The envisioned system leverages Wärtsilä’s in-house competences in data-driven design and process optimisation, to create a smart approach to handling a ship’s waste. This will deliver notable advantages over conventional treatment systems, since human error that can result in illegal discharges, will be eliminated.

The concept promises to change the industry’s approach to waste and water treatment, thereby opening up opportunities for new business models. The primary benefits are anticipated as being the enablement of trouble-free operation, full regulatory compliance, valuable cost savings resulting from the higher level of efficiency attained, and the lack of harmful impact on the marine environment. The inclusion of remote monitoring of the systems will enable operational improvements based on real-time facts validated against a digital twin of the system. Initial studies show that when linking water and waste operation to route planning the potential reductions in energy consumption could be as much as 25 percent.

With its capabilities in simulating, modelling and designing complete solutions from the ground up, Wärtsilä aims to create a holistic integrated system with all the elements designed to work and interface seamlessly together. This will deliver cost and energy efficiencies, and will save on physical space requirements. System reporting will be automatically generated, and in line with local and international port regulations. The development project is ongoing and involves close cooperation with customers.

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