Press Release 23 May 2006 Alfa Laval’s Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S brings groundbreaking technology to tank cleaning Alfa Laval, source of the world’s largest installed base of tank cleaning solutions, has announced the launch of a new single-nozzle tank cleaning machine The Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S offers striking advantages, including a soft-starting hysterisis clutch that eliminates the slippage of traditional magnetic clutches Alfa Laval is home to the original Gunclean and Toftejorg tank cleaning technologies, which together represent over 50 years of tank cleaning experience The latest addition to Alfa Laval’s line of Gunclean Toftejorg products is the Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S, a singlenozzle tank cleaning machine with groundbreaking features This new machine incorporates low-wear materials and advances in mechanical design, such as a hysterisis clutch that resolves the operating issues associated with magnetic clutches The hysterisis clutch – a reliable soft starter In most modern tank cleaning machines, a magnetic clutch is used to engage the gear transmission This involves two strong magnets, one on the turbine side and another opposing it on the gear side These two magnets have to be synchronized in order for the machine to operate, but they can slip and remain disconnected in the event of water hammering or sudden surges in pressure If this happens, the machine does not rotate and the cleaning cycle stops The hysterisis clutch in the Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S is a far more reliable solution Comprising a hysterisis plate on one side and six supermagnets on the other, it creates an even magnetic field that does not require synchronization This more stable construction lets the hysterisis clutch act as a soft starter Even when water hammering or pressure surges occur – as is common at the start of a cleaning cycle – the clutch engages the gear transmission As a result, the Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S operates reliably and avoids any false starts Built-in speed adjustment In addition to increasing runnability, the hysterisis clutch allows design changes that protect against leakage and cross-contamination This is possible because the speed adjustment mechanism is built into the clutch itself When a standard magnetic clutch is used, the speed of the machine must be adjusted on the turbine side Access is created by a speed adjustment shaft, which adds a deck page 2/5 penetration This second penetration is a potential source of seal failure, which increases the risk of gas leakage and the contamination of sensitive cargo By using a hysterisis clutch, the need for an additional shaft is eliminated Rather than being adjusted on the turbine side, the speed of the Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S is easily changed topside by adjusting the relationship between the magnets and the hysterisis plate Long-lasting components Though the hysterisis clutch is the star feature of the Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S, other improvements are present throughout the machine’s construction Using advanced design and materials, Alfa Laval has optimized individual components to increase the machine’s working lifetime One example is the turbine, which is turned by the flow of cleaning media to drive the movement of the cleaning head Alfa Laval has performed extensive studies to fine-tune the turbine design, which has resulted in better power transmission and a reduction of long-term wear In addition, certain components have been crafted from high-tech ceramics, rather than Teflon or steel By using ceramic balls and plates instead of traditional ball bearings, Alfa Laval has cut back on gear system friction and the resulting consumption of spare parts One part of an optimized solution Even when an advanced tank cleaning machine like the Gunclean Toftejorg i65 S is used, the final cleaning result will only be as good as the weakest link in the tank cleaning system This is why Alfa Laval recommends designing the installation properly from the beginning, taking into account everything from the boiler to the tank walls G-Pass, the unique Alfa Laval software used in preparing shadow diagrams (see Appendix: Tank cleaning issues), is central to this design optimization G-Pass lets Alfa Laval evaluate the proposed cleaning solution, creating a three-dimensional image of the tank and its corrugations, stringer platforms and other internal obstructions This image can be viewed from any angle, revealing any “shadows” that are not directly hit by the cleaning jets Because G-Pass accounts for the tank’s design and the position, quantity, jet length and jet hit angle of the cleaning machines, it provides a thorough assessment of tank cleaning performance As a result, customers who request an Alfa Laval solution prepared with GPass can be certain that their shadow diagrams are the basis for the best possible cleaning result page 3/5 Editor’s notes: Alfa Laval is a leading global provider of specialized products and engineering solutions based on its key technologies of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling The company’s equipment, systems and services are dedicated to assisting customers in optimizing the performance of their processes The solutions help them to heat, cool, separate and transport products in industries that produce food and beverages, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, starch, sugar and ethanol Alfa Laval’s products are also used in power plants, aboard ships, in the mechanical engineering industry, in the mining industry and for wastewater treatment, as well as for comfort climate and refrigeration applications Alfa Laval’s worldwide organization works closely with customers in nearly 100 countries to help them stay ahead in the global arena For further information, please contact: André Szczerba − Central Communication Manager, Marine & Diesel Equipment Alfa Laval Tumba AB, Sweden Phone: +46-8 530 651 17 Fax: +46-8 530 345 55 E-mail: andre.szczerba@alfalaval.com page 4/5 Appendix: Tank cleaning issues Tank cleaning involves much more than a machine to spray cleaning fluid in the cargo hold Though shadow diagrams can help in creating a tank cleaning solution, the rules for preparing them are few and incomplete A thorough approach is necessary to achieve adequate performance In most cases, tank cleaning solutions are prepared with the help of shadow diagrams These are two-dimensional representations of a ship’s tank, in which “shadows” indicate the areas that will not be directly hit by the tank cleaning jets Such diagrams, however, are not always as detailed as they seem Because of weaknesses in existing regulations, system designers can disregard important obstructions or otherwise misrepresent their tank cleaning performance This is why customers should specify a thorough assessment of tank shadows, taking into account the actual features of the tank’s construction No effective rules Although tank cleaning installations are necessary with most types of cargo, the rules for preparing shadow diagrams not apply to all applications Current IMO regulations apply only to crude oil tankers, and even these allow certain tank obstructions to be disregarded Where no rules exist, nearly anything can be omitted from the diagrams The tanks of chemical and product tankers, for example, can be calculated as smooth and square – even though they are most often corrugated This creates results that look good on paper, but which are impossible to match in real life Only voluntary guidelines To complicate matters, there are no fixed definitions of a tank cleaning machine’s performance Though the effective jet length is defined in DNV and NK tank cleaning notations, these apply only to Crude Oil Washing machines In other cases, system designers are free to establish their own definitions, which are often exaggerated or misleading Even jet hit angle is not controlled by any other guidelines Unless the DNV ETC notation is used, system designers can calculate shadows with a 0º hit angle – a level where the jet has no impact and no cleaning power Ensuring real-life performance Such “oversights” in shadow diagrams are seldom discussed by suppliers, but they lead to serious performance issues Because missed shadows let layers of product build up in the tank, they can cause critical problems such as cross-contamination and a need for increased cleaning with portable equipment In the case of crude oil tankers, page 5/5 Remaining Onboard (ROB) can lead to a gradual loss of cargo capacity and high fouling costs in connection with dry docking This makes it important for customers to specify how their shadow diagrams are prepared Only a full assessment of a tank’s design, combined with accurate values for jet length and hit angle, will provide reliable results Such an assessment can readily be made with Alfa Laval’s G-Pass software, which creates a three-dimensional representation of the tank and its internal obstructions By including obstructions that are normally discarded, and by using classification society guidelines for jet length and hit angle, G-Pass can generate diagrams that optimize reallife performance