The owner of this plant, a SME located near Bolzano/Bozen, Italy, decided to install a micro-thermolectric power plant on its premises to take advantage of the very interesting all-comprehensive tariff the Italian government offers for newly-built power generation plants fueled by biomass or renewable sources.
In this particular case, the module we supplied is a ZE-50-ULH Organic Rankine Cycle power generation module having a 50-kWe power output. It operates by using heat recovered from the cooling jackets and the exhaust gases of a MAN 420 model 2842 LE 211 genset fueled by vegetable oil with a power output of 420 kWE. The addition of the ORC module to the existing system increases overall productivity by more than 10%.
The MAN 420 genset derives from a heavy-oil fueled marine engine modified to burn biofuel and connected to a generator to convert the developed mechanical energy into electricity. The biofuel it burns (rapeseed oil from certified and tracked EU sources) is a sustainable and renewable energy source made very competitive for power production by state and regional incentives
As all biomass-derived fuels, rapeseed oil is CO2-neutral, as the CO2 it releases during combustion is the same CO2 captured by rapeseed plants during their growth. Furthermore, the residue from rapeseed pressing can be used as a healthy, high-protein foodstuff for cattle.
