Awareness of the benefits of cogeneration and the need to combine a concrete environmental sustainability action with energy efficiency optimization are the main reasons that led Vinavil to install AB’s CHP plant Ecomax® 14 NGS at its factory site in Villadossola, Verbania.
The production cycle of adhesives is energy-intensive and expensive. Therefore, Vinavil needs to develop energy efficiency and get low-cost power to ensure competitiveness in an increasingly aggressive global market.
After a thorough evaluation of market proposals, Vinavil selected AB as its ideal partner to design, build, and service the plant, on the basis of its technical and functional features, expected performance, and assistance guarantees. Through a detailed analysis of the specific energy needs of the Villadossola industrial plant and the characteristics of the existing technologies, AB determined the Ecomax® 14 NGS containerized cogeneration plant to be the best solution.
The plant was placed in an industrial context that necessitated a precise feasibility study due to its time of foundation and structural features, which led to a positive dialog and collaboration between AB’s technical staff and Vinavil’s engineering department with the purpose of developing a systemic solution perfectly suited to expectations.
The Ecomax® 14 NGS plant has a net electrical power equal to 1,363 kWe and a recoverable thermal power of 1495 kWt, of which 652 kWt at high temperature (steam) and 843 kWt at low temperature (hot water). The electricity produced is consumed in full by the manufacturing site, while any excess is sold to the grid.
The plant was made entirely by AB from design to delivery of the container to the final installation. Its extraordinary energy efficiency enabled the achievement of excellent results, while at the same time reducing annual CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by about 803 tonnes, saving 346 TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent) per year.
As evidence of the reliability and performance of the system, tested in 2010, its first full year of operation, 14 ECOMAX® NGS worked producing electricity and heat for 8,332 hours. We should also factor in that Vinavil’s Viladossola plant was closed for the summer holidays for a total duration of 232 hours. As a result, the plant was inactive only for the time strictly necessary to perform routine maintenance (oil change) and some quick technical adjustments.
Vinavil has been extremely sensitive to environmental sustainability issues for several years now; in the forefront of efforts towards a green chemistry that respects nature. This clear industrial policy led to growing emphasis on energy efficiency and choosing AB cogeneration: a safe and innovative solution that can reconcile cost optimization and care for the environment.
FEATURES OF THE ECOMAX® 14 NGS PLANT
LCV of natural gas kWh/Nmc 9.5
Natural gas consumption Nmc/h 363
Introduced power kWt 3,446
Mechanical power supplied kW 1,451
Electrical power supplied kWe 1,416
Net electrical power kWe 1,363
Recoverable thermal power kWt 1,495
Electrical efficiency % 41
Thermal efficiency % 40
Overall efficiency % 81
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