The largest LNG-powered cogeneration unit in southern Poland – the next stage of investment in Schumacher Packaging.
At the Schumacher Packaging plant in Myszków, we have successfully completed the second energy modernization, which significantly increased the energy efficiency of the factory. Thanks to the introduction of a modern cogeneration installation, in addition to several other projects, the plant is able to independently produce a total of almost 9 MW of electricity, which is about 80% of the energy demand of the entire facility. The cogeneration installation was put into operation in September 2024, and its cost will be paid off in about 3 years!
The first step
Cooperation with Schumacher Packaging began in 2016, when the company conducted a mandatory energy audit of its enterprise. Based on the audit, our engineers identified key areas that required modernization, especially in the area of electricity and heat consumption, necessary for production processes such as paper drying.
Investment implementation
The modernization project of the Myszków plant assumed the installation of a modern 4.4 MW cogeneration unit, capable of producing both electricity and heat (2.7 MW of thermal energy in hot water and 1760 kg of steam per hour). Initial plans, due to the lack of a gas installation capable of supporting a large engine, included a 1 MW unit, but after further analysis of the plant's needs, it was decided to increase the scale of the investment. Ultimately, the new cogeneration significantly increased the plant's energy independence. As of September 2024, it is the largest cogeneration unit operating on LNG gas in southern Poland.
Key challenges
Scaling the gas installation
With a 1MW cogeneration unit, the existing LNG gas station at the plant was sufficient, but after modifying the plans and increasing the capacity to 4.4 MW, it turned out that the cogeneration would consume almost twice as much gas as could be drawn from the station so as not to freeze it. To solve this problem, we expanded the LNG regasification station, increasing its capacity by more than twice, which allowed it to power the engine and other needs.
Diversification of energy sources
Thanks to the expansion, the plant can now use not only cogeneration, but also a combined heat and power plant and a gas boiler house. This allows for flexible management of energy production. Depending on the demand for different media - steam, electricity or heat, the installations can be used interchangeably or combined with each other.
Integration of systems
Designing and integrating all new and existing installations, such as the gas boiler house, coal-fired combined heat and power plant or the cogeneration unit engine, was crucial to achieving the plant's full energy efficiency. Designing all installations and connections and obtaining permits took about a year. At Schumacher Packaging, almost the entire thermal power installation was designed and built by DB Energy.
“Designing and scaling this investment was a major challenge, especially due to the need to adapt the infrastructure to the changing needs of the plant. Initially, the planned cogeneration unit was to have a capacity of 1 MW, but after detailed analyses of energy demand, we increased its capacity to 4.4 MW. One of the most difficult elements was the integration of the new installation with the existing plant systems, which required the expansion of the LNG regasification station and the creation of new solutions, fiber optic rings for information exchange, monitoring of steam parameters in various places in the network and the construction of a large part of the new transmission pipeline network.
The entire investment, together with the earlier modernization of the CHP plant, lasted several years, during which we completed a number of projects at the plant. In addition to installations in the field of thermal energy, which included the modernization of existing boilers, heat recovery, through process automation, to the construction of new energy sources and the installation of gas cogeneration, we also completed a number of smaller projects and optimizations. These included, for example, the construction of a boiler feed water treatment plant using the latest technologies (ultra-pure water), modern dust removal, denitrification and desulphurisation installations, designing a coal yard and coal feeders, building designs and many others. It is nice to see such a broad development of the Client's plant, especially when it brings impressive results.” – says Maciej Młodawski, Contract Manager at DB Energy.
Modernization results – cogeneration installation:
- Total cost of cogeneration installation: EUR 5 million
- Coverage of approximately 40% of energy demand with cogeneration alone
- Payback period: 3 years
- Energy production for plant’s own needs: 9 MW
Schumacher Packaging is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of paper packaging, with 29 production plants. The company specializes in the production of corrugated and solid board packaging, supplying products to various industrial sectors around the world.
