Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VULKANO (Novel integrated refurbishment solution as a key path towards creating eco-efficient and competitive furnaces)
Reporting period: 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31
The VULKANO Solution has been created to design, implement and validate an advanced retrofitting integrated solution to increase the energy and environmental efficiency in existing preheating and melting industrial furnaces currently fed with natural gas; through implementing combined new solutions based on high-temperature phase change materials (PCMs) for energy recovery systems, new refractories, optimized co-firing strategies and burners, advanced monitoring and control systems and a realistic and powerful tool able to optimize the integration of the solution with upstream and downstream processes, following a life cycle and cost thinking, along the value chain. The solutions have been design, developed and implemented in two industrial plants of the energy intensive industries, acting as real demonstrators in the ceramic and steel sectors. Additionally, another plant from the aluminium sector served as virtual demonstrator to proof the feasibility and replication of the proposed solutions.
The VULKANO Solution offers a complete retrofitting system to end-users and furnace manufacturers aiming to enhance the energy efficiency of industrial furnaces based on:
- the implementation of refractories that overcome the limitations of durability and efficiency of the current ones, incorporating potential combustion by-products and reaching up to 39.000 € annual savings;
- a new system for waste heat recovery based on PCMs that allows recovering, storing and reusing waste heat at high temperatures.
- a more efficient combustion burners allowing the gradual substitution of natural gas by bio-gas or process gas;
- new algorithms to improve monitoring and control systems of advanced and innovative solutions;
- and a predictive tool that facilitates decision-making for the optimization of the furnace and industrial processes considering the life cycle perspective, which helps to reach up 313.000 kWh/p.a. fossil energy savings.
The solution aims to contribute not only updating the mainly old-aged European furnaces but also to create a path to follow in order to ensure a successful design in case of new furnaces and replicable sectors. Therefore, the VULKANO integrated solution aims to increase the overall energy efficiency in the intensive industry, to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and the pollutant emissions released, to reduce also CAPEX and OPEX cost, to develop a comprehensive methodology taking into account the life cycle thinking and assure a successful exploitation strategy for the VULKANO solution able to enhance also the promotion of eco-innovative solutions and improve the employability in sustainable markets.
The VULKANO Solution offers a complete retrofitting system to end-users and furnace manufacturers aiming to enhance the energy efficiency of industrial furnaces based on:
- the implementation of refractories that overcome the limitations of durability and efficiency of the current ones, incorporating potential combustion by-products and reaching up to 39.000 € annual savings;
- a new system for waste heat recovery based on PCMs that allows recovering, storing and reusing waste heat at high temperatures.
- a more efficient combustion burners allowing the gradual substitution of natural gas by bio-gas or process gas;
- new algorithms to improve monitoring and control systems of advanced and innovative solutions;
- and a predictive tool that facilitates decision-making for the optimization of the furnace and industrial processes considering the life cycle perspective, which helps to reach up 313.000 kWh/p.a. fossil energy savings.
The solution aims to contribute not only updating the mainly old-aged European furnaces but also to create a path to follow in order to ensure a successful design in case of new furnaces and replicable sectors. Therefore, the VULKANO integrated solution aims to increase the overall energy efficiency in the intensive industry, to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and the pollutant emissions released, to reduce also CAPEX and OPEX cost, to develop a comprehensive methodology taking into account the life cycle thinking and assure a successful exploitation strategy for the VULKANO solution able to enhance also the promotion of eco-innovative solutions and improve the employability in sustainable markets.
VULKANO's results have direct impacts on the society, environment and economy following the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
The solution includes innovations such as the introduction of co-firing of NG and syngas in preheating furnaces will enable the gradual substitution of NG by syngas from 15% up to 40%. Besides, the developed innovative refractories and the energy recovery based on PCMs involve a reduction of the operating expenditure (OPEX) and heat losses of the whole heating system.
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
The solution aims to increase the energy and environmental efficiency in existing preheating and melting industrial furnaces currently fed with natural gas. The consumption in heating and cooling is about 37% in the European industrial sector. Thanks to this, the innovation is already helping Europe's industrial fabric to increase its competitiveness in the market by overcoming the challenges in terms of efficiency, reliability and adaptation to meet the sustainable development targets specified in EU and international Roadmaps.
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
All the methodologies deployed in the VULKANO Solution aims to develop a coherent cost-efficient use of the energetic resources, namely: the new refractories, the Phase Change Materials energy recovery, the Co-firing system and the Monitoring and control system (around 100 CO2-eq tons/year savings).
Goal 13: Climate Action
The environmental impact is assessed by comparison with the reference conditions, considering direct and indirect emissions (such as electricity mix) related to the implementation of each technology, as well as the environmental impact related to the production of the equipment and materials required for the implementation of the solutions. The furnace energy efficiency can be directly enhanced and the syngas substitution is implemented (15-40%)-depending on the sector and the integration/combination of the solutions-, have an impact on the reduction of fossil-fuel consumption, and consequently, the environmental impact associated.
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Many companies and entities have promoted their direct collaboration through VULKANO. Thanks to these alliances, this European project has consolidated the exchange of knowledge, technologies and financial resources and has promoted the formation of effective alliances between the public and private spheres and civil society. As a fruit of this partnership, several articles for scientific journals have been published in collaboration, and the consortium is exploring the most suitable exploitation options of the integrated solution developed in VULKANO project.
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
The solution includes innovations such as the introduction of co-firing of NG and syngas in preheating furnaces will enable the gradual substitution of NG by syngas from 15% up to 40%. Besides, the developed innovative refractories and the energy recovery based on PCMs involve a reduction of the operating expenditure (OPEX) and heat losses of the whole heating system.
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
The solution aims to increase the energy and environmental efficiency in existing preheating and melting industrial furnaces currently fed with natural gas. The consumption in heating and cooling is about 37% in the European industrial sector. Thanks to this, the innovation is already helping Europe's industrial fabric to increase its competitiveness in the market by overcoming the challenges in terms of efficiency, reliability and adaptation to meet the sustainable development targets specified in EU and international Roadmaps.
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
All the methodologies deployed in the VULKANO Solution aims to develop a coherent cost-efficient use of the energetic resources, namely: the new refractories, the Phase Change Materials energy recovery, the Co-firing system and the Monitoring and control system (around 100 CO2-eq tons/year savings).
Goal 13: Climate Action
The environmental impact is assessed by comparison with the reference conditions, considering direct and indirect emissions (such as electricity mix) related to the implementation of each technology, as well as the environmental impact related to the production of the equipment and materials required for the implementation of the solutions. The furnace energy efficiency can be directly enhanced and the syngas substitution is implemented (15-40%)-depending on the sector and the integration/combination of the solutions-, have an impact on the reduction of fossil-fuel consumption, and consequently, the environmental impact associated.
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Many companies and entities have promoted their direct collaboration through VULKANO. Thanks to these alliances, this European project has consolidated the exchange of knowledge, technologies and financial resources and has promoted the formation of effective alliances between the public and private spheres and civil society. As a fruit of this partnership, several articles for scientific journals have been published in collaboration, and the consortium is exploring the most suitable exploitation options of the integrated solution developed in VULKANO project.
The VULKANO Solution has been tested in the facilities of 3 of the 12 partners who are part of the H2020 VULKANO consortium: a) a Ceramic plant in Spain, b) a steel plant in Slovenia, and c) tested as well in terms of replication feasibility in a Turkish aluminium industry.
Moreover, VULKANO is extending the technologies developed in the project to other sectors that have in common phases of the production process such as melting, heating and maintenance furnaces.
Even if the complete solution, being applied by the end of 2019, did not yet allow enough time to gather complete values to provide an exact information on the savings obtained from a full experimental validation at industrial scale. However, some experimental results at lab-scale from its application in an early stage along with theoretical results from numerical simulations can be highlighted for the different VULKANO solutions:
The PCM system all alone has shown a performance of 12%, during the discharge phase of the system, representing 351MWh/year in the applied steel furnace.
On the other hand, some of the installed individual solutions in the ceramic sector (refractories, M&CS, tool insights) allowed a better performance of the furnace, reducing 10% on average the gas consumption in the system.
Particularly, the novel refractory performance was improved by a reduction of 40% of the thermal conductivity of the new material compared with the conventional one.
The use of the decision-support tool does not directly involve a reduction on the energy consumption, however it helps in the decision making of how to operate the whole plant production system considering energy, economic and environmental indicators.
Overall, the VULKANO Solution aims to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs of the furnaces by at least 15%.
Moreover, VULKANO is extending the technologies developed in the project to other sectors that have in common phases of the production process such as melting, heating and maintenance furnaces.
Even if the complete solution, being applied by the end of 2019, did not yet allow enough time to gather complete values to provide an exact information on the savings obtained from a full experimental validation at industrial scale. However, some experimental results at lab-scale from its application in an early stage along with theoretical results from numerical simulations can be highlighted for the different VULKANO solutions:
The PCM system all alone has shown a performance of 12%, during the discharge phase of the system, representing 351MWh/year in the applied steel furnace.
On the other hand, some of the installed individual solutions in the ceramic sector (refractories, M&CS, tool insights) allowed a better performance of the furnace, reducing 10% on average the gas consumption in the system.
Particularly, the novel refractory performance was improved by a reduction of 40% of the thermal conductivity of the new material compared with the conventional one.
The use of the decision-support tool does not directly involve a reduction on the energy consumption, however it helps in the decision making of how to operate the whole plant production system considering energy, economic and environmental indicators.
Overall, the VULKANO Solution aims to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs of the furnaces by at least 15%.