PETER BROTHERHOOD START SECOND PHASE OF A CONTRACT
15 February 2006
Peterborough, UK-based engineering company, Peter Brotherhood Ltd, which specialises in the design and manufacture of steam turbines, has delivered six 6MW turbo-compound systems to Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. It completes the first phase of several systems ordered by the shipyard.
Work is already well advanced on the manufacture of the second phase of machines, the first of which has already been installed on board the first of this series of containerships, the Emma Maersk that is scheduled for sea trials in August 2006. The remaining units will be delivered later in 2006 and in 2007. These larger units will incorporate ABB power turbines including the turbochargers for the main engines delivered by ABB. ABB Turbo Systems Ltd / Switzerland is the worldwide leader in turbocharging diesel - and gas engines above 500kW with a global service network.
Each turbo-compound system will be installed on-board a large container ship. They will be used to convert energy in the exhaust gases from the main propulsion, slow speed diesel engine into electrical power for use on-board the ship.
The turbo-compound system consists of a Peter Brotherhood steam turbine, an ABB power turbine, two gearboxes and an 8.5MW Siemens generator - all on a combined baseframe. An electronic governor and PLC based control system has also been supplied to regulate the start up, shut down and running modes over the full range of the main engine duties.
Peter Brotherhood supplied a number of similar machines via Odense to Maersk Line, between 1987 and 1991. These turbines have proved to be extremely reliable with over 1.5 million running hours at over 99% availability. This was an important factor in helping Peter Brotherhood Ltd to secure this latest series of orders.
Colin Lake, regional sales manager for steam turbines, said: "We have been awarded contracts from Odense Steel Shipyard to deliver turbo-compound systems over a three year period. The turbo-compound systems have proved to be the right choice of equipment due to the relatively short pay back period and the efficiency of the system."
"In most cases, the system generates significant savings on the fuel consumption of the main engine, depending on the operating regime of the ship. A similar saving is therefore made on the emissions in terms of both NOx, SOx and CO² from the exhaust of the main engine to atmosphere via the ship's stack."
"There are many pressures on the marine industry to be seen to be environmentally-friendly ahead of impending legislation on ship engine / stack emissions," continued Colin. "Some customers of the ship owners are already asking for clear evidence of the environmental policies of their shippers and this system sustains and reflects the high priority on environmental considerations that Maersk Line has in managing its ships."
Peter Brotherhood designs and manufactures steam turbines and turbo-generator sets within the range of 1MW to 40MW. The company specialises in supplying machines for onshore and offshore applications including power generation applications, waste-to-energy plants, container ships and FPSO vessels.
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* Peter Brotherhood Ltd - www.peterbrotherhood.co.uk
