INP optimizes thermal power stations in Austria

Combustion optimization of the biomass boiler in the Grödig thermal power plant

During the 2011/2012 heating campaign, a biomass boiler was converted to optimized combustion control in the Grödig wood chip heating plant. This project was carried out in cooperation between the operator, the boiler manufacturer, INP and SEEGEN, the Biomass Thermal Power Plant Association Salzburg.
For SEEGEN, the task concerned implementing a system that would make different control concepts directly comparable so that any potential savings could be reliably identified. The test runs were carried out under approximately equal operating conditions, at both full and partial load. Standardized fuel was used in all test runs, and remained the same during all test runs at both load levels. The standardized fuels used were industrial wood chips, forest wood chips and mixtures of the same.
Following the first heating campaign, it was possible to make the following statements:

• Fuel savings are definitely achieved (several %).
• The plant's own electricity consumption was significantly reduced.
• The support work was significantly reduced, because the control system reacted with great flexibility with regard to the fuel used.
• Fuel changes are automatically adjusted for. During the combustion of pure forest wood chips, there were no malfunctions in operation (slag formation, etc.) in spite of the fully automatic operation.

Initial operating experience confirms our expectations. SEEGEN will continue to monitor the system in order to gather long-term experience. As a result of the good experience in operation, the thermal oil boiler should be converted at the Grödig heating plant as a second step.

Boiler data: 
1200 kW, year of manufacture 1999

Savings potential:
plant's own electricity consumption, fuel consumption, monitoring work, downtimes due to slag formation

Initial experience indicates that there is a very good combustion behavior when using pure forest wood chips.