& Burners Directory 2015 44 Bioenergy Internat ional No 81, 5-2015 Boilers Bioenergy on the ground Whilst much focus for the aviation sector is on reducing aviation emissions in the air, a lot can be done on the ground. One aircraft manufacturer major, Airbus Group, has reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from one of its assembly plants in France by switching to biomass heating. employing over 10 000 staff in 350 000 m² of covered space, the Airbus Industries Clement Ader assembly facility in Toulouse, France is an enormous workspace. Here several different aircraft models, from the A320 up to the Primus A380 are assembled. In 2010 a decision was made to oversee the heating needs and environmental impact as part of the Group’s overall long-term “eco-efficiency” commitment. This includes its “Blue5” target to reduce total carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent in 2020 compared to 2006. The choice was to install a 13.5 MW woodchip fired steam boiler from Austrian ventilation and combustion technology specialists Polytechnik Luft- und Feuerungstechnik GmbH. The project received investment support from the French Environment Agency, ADEME, and it is the first biomass installation at an Airbus facility. Locally sourced woodchips Commissioned in 2013 the scope of supply for Polytechnik was the boiler excluding the buildings, a contract worth around EUR 3.3 million. The boiler uses around 22 000 tonnes of woodchips per annum and supplies about two-thirds of the heat demand for the facility, replacing fossil gas. The woodchips are sourced locally from forestry operations and short rotation plantations such as eucalyptus. Seventy percent is supplied through the forestry cooperative COFOGAR (union of forest administrations in southwestern France), one of the largest timber providers in the region with the balance coming from local sawmills. Having such a diverse origin of fuel supply can be a challenge as chip size and moisture content vary consi- Process steam and heat plant orders for UR BAS Austrian boiler fabricators URBAS Maschinenfabrik GmbH report a busy order period for its biomass-based boilers having announced several orders in different markets. In Sweden an order for a 10 MW, 18 bar process steam plant including buildings was received from mechanical pulp producer Waggeryd Cell AB, a subsidiary of ATA Group. Delivery is scheduled during late 2016. local fuels / local solutions / local energy www.renewa.fi derably. However according to Polytechnik the hydraulic grate boiler can handle longs, fines and moisture content from 20 to 55 percent with the key to trouble-free boiler operation attributed to proper staff training and continual monitoring of the thermal output of the plant. Ash recycling The compact boiler plant houses three fuel bunkers equipped with a transverse clam-grab. Each bunker has a moving floor to meter out fuel to the boiler and can hold roughly one day’s worth of fuel. A special feature is an emergency cooling by-pass enabling safe shutdown of boiler should a disruptive shutdown in the gas heating occur and threaten to affect the biomass boiler. The flue-gas cleaning system consists of a multi-cyclone followed by an electrostatic filter that removes particulate matter (PM) down to the 2-8 mg/Nm³ range under normal operating conditions, well below the legislative limit of 20mg/Nm³. Other regulated emissions such nitrogen oxides (NOx) are well below 200 mg/Nm³, less than half the 400 mg/Nm³ limit, whereas carbon monoxide (CO) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) are almost undetectable. The resulting ash from the combustion process is, after appropriate treatment, used as a fertiliser in agriculture. Text: Alan Sherrard Photos courtesy Polytechnik BI81/4768/AS In Norway an order for a 5 MW hot water boiler with buildings and delivery by end of 2015 was received from sawmill group, RingAlm Tre A/S. In Estonia an order was received from Finnish forest products UPM for a 20 MW process steam boiler and buildings for its Otepää veneer factory with delivery during late 2016. Much closer to home is an announcement by Austria’s largest heat utility KELAG Wärme GmbH that it will establish a district heating plant in Völkermarkt, where URBAS is based. KELAG has placed an order for a 4 MW plant, which is to be operational by the end of the year. BI81/4956/AS
Bioenergy no 5 September 2015
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