Heat and power plant improvement

Energy efficiency audit

Having conducted an energy efficiency audit in 2018, a complex concept has been designed for the investment which has confirmed the expected energy and environmental effect. Pursuant to Article 19 (1)(3) of the Energy Efficiency Act of 20th May 2016, the audit also has provided for a set of recommendations with an aim to improve energy efficiency of a boiler. Therefore, the investment activities allow it legally to acquire energy efficiency certificates, so called white certificates for end users who increase their energy savings. Before the boiler improvement has been commenced, white certificates of more than 6.2 thousand toe were requested.

Project development

The DB Energy team of engineers indicated very low currently achieved efficiency of a boiler, countless infrastructure issues, as well as lack of automatic regulations for operating parameters. Once the improvements were implemented, the heat and power plant in Schumacher Packaging became more efficient.

The following steps were taken while improving the first boiler:

• the steam drum was repaired,
• the supporting structure was replaced,
• the boiler pressure part was replaced,
• the complete grating was replaced,
• the boiler brickwork and its insulation were replaced,
• collateral installations were implemented: the installation to dedust, desulphurise and denitrogenise flue gases,
• a new electric installation was put in place,
• processes were automatised which provided for the boiler’s maintenance-free work.

If an appropriate automated system and intelligent algorithms are applied, it allows sudden changes to be prevented, i.e. before they occur, the steam blowdown outlet will be reduced. The advanced boiler automation aims at controlling the steam production so that maximal efficiency of combustion process is reached. It also ensures that the unit to produce energy within the already applied back-pressure turbine of 7.5 MWel is utilized to its maximum. 

The post-improvement effect – tangible profit for Schumacher Packaging

While implementing the project, the energy and its influence on running costs of the installation, as well as an environmental effect were estimated. The latter is connected with reduced consumption of primary fuel. The data below relate to the entire investment.

• total cost of the heat and power plant improvement – EUR 7.8 million
• increase in boiler efficiency by 20% (from 65% to 85%) – improved combustion process
• total annual savings due to improvement of both boilers – EUR 4.5 million
• final energy savings of more than 6.2 thousand toe = a possibility to request for energy efficiency certificates of more than EUR 2.5 million
• approx. 18 months – payback period

Thanks to the boiler improvement, the CO2 emission is reduced from 134,000 tones/year to approx. 110,00 tones/year. The difference of 24,000 tones refers to the average annual CO2 emissions of 6,000 4-persons households.