Two neighbouring factories in the Netherlands share the produced electricity and process heat from wood waste combustion
Biomass for industrial process heat
The use of biomass for energy in industry is growing rapidly in the last 15 years. Until about 2010, the use of biomass residues for process heat in industry was originally limited to industry sectors that had their own residues available to cover (some of) their own heat demand, e.g. sugar, palm oil, wood processing, pulp and paper, etc. By processing these residues, a waste problem could be avoided while generating useful heat at the same time. With the increasing demand for cost effective renewable heat however, also other industries have recognized the opportunity for biomass based heat provision to reduce the carbon footprint of their processes.
While there is a large potential to displace fossil fuels with biomass fuels in the large and energy intensive industries (steel, cement, etc), there are also many small and medium sized process industries such as food industries, paper industries, etc. In contrast to the larger energy intensive industries where these case typically require that large volumes of biomass are shipped to an individual site, the heat demand in these smaller industries can often be better matched with the biomass resources that may already be locally available, resulting in smaller transportation distances.
Case Study
This case study report by Task 32 (Biomass Combustion) provides insight about the wood pallet production company Foresco Dongen operating (since 2020) a biomass fired boiler installation to supply electricity and heat to both their own drying chambers as well as the neighboring company of Trobas, a gelatine production company. The company is located in Dongen, in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Download the full report “Industrial Process Heat: case study 6”
The 5 MW biomass boiler uses recycling residues from the company’s pallet recycling operations that can no longer be used in pallets. Combusting these wood residues produces approx. 10 tonnes per hour of saturated process steam. The steam is used to drive two scew expander turbines for the production of max 500 kW electricity. Expanded steam from the turbines is condensed for delivery of process heat for the drying chambers. Due to the batch character of the drying process, it happens often that the heat production capacity exceeds local heat demand. It was therefore decided to establish a heat connection to the neighbouring food industry. This makes it possible to use the Combines Heat and Power (CHP) plant continuously at maximum capacity, even when there is a lack of heat demand in the company itself.
The biomass fuel displaces over 8 million m3 of natural gas annually.
The biomass boiler installation is highly efficient and avails of an advanced flue gas cleaning system, including SNCR, SCR, bicarbonate injection and a baghouse filter, leading to very low emissions.
The project demonstrates that with the local financial support instruments available, the substantial investment can be justified economically, since the plant is operating year-round at maximum load to supply not only the captive industrial heat demand, but also a significant share of the neighbouring industry. An inexpensive low-grade fuel that is locally available is used.
Biomass combustion is already proven in wood industries for several decades, as both wood residues and heat demand are locally available. In this project the coupling with neighbouring industries can be considered innovative.
More case study reports
This report is part of a series of reports on the use of bioenergy in industry to supply process heat. Following five case studies and a concluding policy synthesis report on biomass based industrial heat were published. In 2024, another 5 examples were prepared by Task 32 on application of biomass combustion in industry.
Find more case studies on process heat from biomass
