(HELSINKI, Finland) — The technology group Wartsila has announced that the Wartsila 34DF dual-fuel engine has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 3 certification for diesel mode operation when installed together with the Wartsila NOx reducer (NOR) system. The Wartsila NOR is a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that converts nitrogen oxides (NOx) with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (N2) and water. Wartsila is the first engine manufacturer to be awarded this certification.
The benefit of this award is that shipyards now need only a single party to certify both the engine and the SCR system for full compliance with the latest emission regulations. The Wartsila 34DF has already been awarded EPA Tier 3 certification of emissions compliance from the EPA in 2017 for operating in gas mode without an SCR system.
The EPA Tier 3 NOx requirements entered into force in 2016 for Category 3 engine sizes (engines with a cylinder displacement at or above 30 liter/cylinder) to be installed in U.S.-flagged or registered vessels.
At the same time, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) NOx Tier III requirements also entered into force in North American and U.S. Caribbean Emission Control Areas (ECAs) from January 2016 for vessels with a keel-laying date on or after Jan. 1, 2016 and an engine output greater or equal to 130 kW.
The Wartsila 34DF engine is now certified for both the EPA Tier 3 and the IMO Tier III emission standards in diesel mode operation when installed together with the Wartsila NOx reducer SCR system, as well as in gas mode without exhaust after-treatment.
