Laimburg biomass plant.
Construction of the civil and building services infrastructure required for the 4th-generation light source
Bolzano – Vadena
2017
Construction of a biomass heating plant with district heating network at the “Laimburg” Research Centre in Vadena.
This is a pyrogasification plant consisting of four cogeneration units powered by synthesis gas from woody biomass, with a total electrical output of 220 kWel (4 x 55 kWel), for the combined production of electricity and heat. The cogeneration units consist of a conventional internal combustion engine designed to run on synthesis gas from woody biomass (wood chips).
The energy in the fuel is transformed into mechanical energy, then converted into electrical energy by an alternator, and into thermal energy from the engine cooling circuit. The electricity produced is fed into the grid net of auxiliary services. The thermal energy is delivered to the local district heating network. Thanks to the presence of two post-reactors, the percentage of ash produced by the system is between 1% and 2% of the total wood chips fed in, reducing values that could otherwise reach peaks of 10%.
The plant is equipped with a supervision system that measures physical quantities and controls and regulates operating parameters. Control is fully automatic and can be viewed remotely, ensuring continuity and efficiency in plant operation.
The control system is based on three levels:
- the set of measuring instruments used to detect the operating status of the machinery and the values of all relevant quantities (temperatures, pressures, fluid flow rates, levels in equipment, concentration measurements);
- the control subsystem, consisting of a network of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for acquisition, control and regulation, interfaced with the above subsystem and the supervision subsystem;
- the supervision subsystem, consisting of operator interface stations.
