Multi-phase emulsion breaker MPEB

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MAHLE Industrial Filtration combines safety, reliability and efficiency with the NFV bilge water separator.

Own developments based on efficient modular designs
Increasingly tough environmental regulations pose welcome challenges for MAHLE’s highly skilled and inspired development engineers, who use their broad expertise with systematic innovation to produce results. These are evidenced by our numerous patents for core technology elements and our diverse range of products that make an important contribution to advanced process and environmental engineering. MAHLE’s global success is driven by products that are perfectly tailored to meet our customers’ requirements, products which deliver unsurpassed cost-effectiveness due to their modular design. Ten of the world’s top 15 shipbuilding companies and the world’s three largest shipyards equip their ships with our environmentally friendly, high quality systems, placing their trust in the outstanding operating security of MAHLE Industriefiltration system.

Constant quality and safety
MAHLE Industriefiltration supplies highly efficient, customized solutions for a wide range of applications: Bilge water deoiling, ballast water treatment, processing cooling lubricants and detergents, cleaning of industrial waste water as well as separation technology for the oil industry including heavy oil filtration, protection for hydraulic systems and pipelines as of transfer and circulation systems. This comprehensive portfolio is rounded off by customer support services precisely tailored to our customers’ needs, including retrofitting and the integration of new units.

The cleaning of bilge water poses distinct challenges
Not only does the composition and flow of bilge water constantly change, making continuous and efficient treatment difficult, but treatment on board also presents another set of constraints. Treatment methods must meet the individual requirements of shipowners for safety, reliability and automation as well as the specific design of the ships. In addition, performance of the treatment system can vary depending on the oil content and the size of the droplets and particles present in the water and on various operating conditions.

The NFV multi-phase emulsion breaker MPEB is the collective name for a series of continuous bilge water separators for the treatment of bilge water at sea. The MPEB is easy to install for any new or existing installation. It complies with the Marine Environment Protection Committee Resolution, MEPC.107(49), of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The MPEB separators use patented two-stage separation technologies to remove contaminants from the bilge water. These systems do not require backflushing or the use of any chemicals, absorption processes, or absorption or membrane filters. A range of capacities between 0.25 m³ and 10 m³ per hour is available.

Working principle
The MPEB continuously separates oil, emulsions and dispersions from water without backflushing or the use of chemicals. However, because the MPEB has a self-cleaning function, it effectively overcomes the challenges of using absorption filters. The MPEB provides continuous pressure-type separation in two stages using the principles of gravity and coalescence to separate oil and solid particles from the bilge water. In the first stage, the NFV multi-phase separator MPS uses patented profiles to separate oil and solids from the bilge water. In the second stage, the NFV-Mechanical Emulsion Breaker MESB separates fine emulsified oil droplets using patented emulsion breaker elements. Separated oil is discharged to a waste oil tank. An oil-in-water monitor measures the residual oil content before cleaned water is discharged overboard.

Approval
The MPEB and the oil-in-water monitor are approved according to the IMO Resolution MEPC.107(49) as well as the European Marine Equipment Directive, MED 2002/75/EC. The MPEB also fulfils the requirements of all major classification societies. Upon request, the MPEB can be delivered with an individual test certificate also with USCG-certificate No. 162.050/9041/0.

Configuration
The MPEB bilge water separators are available in different designs, sizes and capacities. This enables flexibility in both design and configuration to enable shipbuilding companies to implement effective, creative solutions.

The MPEB designs from MAHLE Industriefiltration:

• MPEB:
  Single system, in one pressure vessel
• MPEB-VT:
  Divided system, in two individual pressure vessels; suitable for retrofit installations
• Deoiler 2000:
  High-performance dual system, in two pressure vessels built together

Retrofitting
MPEB is ideal for replacing older bilge water separator systems. It is available as the MPEB-VT, which is a separator unit that consists of two vessels. The first vessel is placed in the same location as the old bilge water separator; the second vessel may be placed anywhere in the engine room where there is any available space.

MAHLE Industriefiltration GmbH
develops and builds advanced filtration and separation technology for use in a wide range of industrial applications and in power plants, civil and military shipbuilding. The company is part of the MAHLE Group and thus is backed by the strength of a worldwide market leader. The MAHLE Group is one of the top 30 automotive suppliers and the globally leading manufacturer of components and systems for the internal combustion engine and its peripherals. Around 43,000 employees work at over 100 production plants and eight research and development centers. In 2009, MAHLE generated sales in excess of EUR 3.9 billion.

For almost 50 years, NFV products have been relaible systems for shipping companies in the field of deoiling, membrane filtration and fuel treatment. Our products help our partners to successfully balance economy and ecology. By focusing our maritime and petrochemical activities in the new Hamburg facility, we are able to concentrate research, planning and production in one site. MAHLE Industriefiltration provides its products a wide range of customised and highly efficient filtration and separation systems for a wide variety of applications: from bilge water separation over ballast water treatment to engine maintenance, the protection of hydraulic systems and pipelines, transfer and circulation systems. This comprehensive portfolio is rounded off by customer support services precisely tailored to customers’ needs. Ten of the world’s top 15 shipping companies and the world’s three largest shipyards as well as several navies around the world (e.g. German, Turkish, Russian and U.S. Navy) equip their ships with our environmentally friendly, high quality systems, placing their trust in the outstanding operating security of NFV- systems. The NFV-products have been the German Navy’s partner of choice for deoiling, membrane filtration and fuel treatment systems for over 30 years.

Hamburg, 09/2010