News & Insights Marine KraftPowercon launches air-coo...

KraftPowercon launches air-cooled rectifier for ballast water treatment | KraftPowercon

Date
8/30/2020

Category
Marine

Posted By
Tommy Rochhausen

Power supply company KraftPowercon is now launching ECKraft, its first air-cooled rectifier specially developed for Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS).

“We developed this new solution for customers who, for various reasons, cannot or do not want to use water-cooled rectifiers for their BWMS.”

— Göran Stenmark, Global Product Manager for KraftPowercon.

There are multiple technologies to treat ballast water and remove unwanted organisms before it is discharged in foreign waters. The most common technology today is Electro Chlorination Systems (EC), in which ballast water is fed through an electrochemical cell. An electric current is then passed through the cell, breaking down the salt water into hydrogen and sodium hypochlorite, which kills any remaining organisms. This ensures that organisms are not transported between seas or between ports. One of the key components in this process is the rectifier that supplies the cell with the electrical current. Thanks to its water-cooled FlexKraft Marine rectifiers, KraftPowercon has become a world-leading supplier for a different BWMS.

One of the key advantages of the new air-cooled rectifier – ECKraft– is that it is easy to install and maintain, and requires little space. ECKraft uses fans to cool the rectifier components, and, in comparison with water-cooled rectifiers, is considerably easier to install since it does not require connection to the ship’s existing water-cooling system.

ECKraft is designed to meet the strict vibration requirements that apply to BWMS without the need for vibration dampers, which are otherwise a common solution for isolating vibration on board ships. The advantage of eliminating vibration dampers is that the rectifier does not move relative to the ship, so connections are simplified and there is no need for expensive flexible cables.

Even if ECKraft is easy to service and maintain by the user, KraftPowercon also has a global service network that can provide rapid support if needed.

“An important consideration when choosing a system is to make sure it is designed to maximize availability. With the modular design of ECKraft you can rest assured that you have a reliable power supply and a system that will continue to work – albeit at reduced capacity – if something goes wrong, which is extremely important,”

says Göran Stenmark.

SEVERAL TYPE APPROVALS

ECKraftwill be type-approved by the certification bodies DNV-GL and the Korean Register in the first quarter of 2020. This type approval confirms that the product meets IMO and USCG regulations. The rectifier is designed and manufactured by the KraftPowercon team in Sweden and will be exhibited at the international Sea Japan fair in March.